A Hobart woman living a “chaotic lifestyle” who left her friend blind in one eye after attacking him with a high heeled shoe has been sentenced to time in prison.
Katie Maree Job and Robert Lance Frederick Ransley were driving in Hobart’s northern suburbs in December 2021 when she asked to borrow his phone that she had lent to him.
When Ransley asked why, Job became angry, picked up one of her stilettos that she wore “almost every day” and struck him on the head.
Injured and in pain, Ransley managed to pull over as Job continued to assault him while he tried to leave the car.
Beginning to cry, he begged her to stop but she hit him three more times, with one blow striking his left eye and causing ‘immediate blindness’.
Ransley then jumped out of the car with blood pouring down his head and fled with his phone, only to be followed by Job who continued demanding it.
The pair later returned to the car and despite his serious injuries, Ransley drove Job to a Moonah pub.
Upon presenting himself to the Royal Hobart Hospital a short time later, Ransley was found to be blind in his left eye and underwent surgery for severe fractures and injuries.
It wasn’t until February 2022, however, that Ransley visited the Bridgewater Police Station to report the incident to the police.
Job was subsequently arrested and bailed to appear at the Hobart Magistrates Court, where she has been in custody since January 9 2023.
In his passing comments on the sentence, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Estcourt said Job has an “extensive history of offending violently” – including multiple instances of assaulting a police officer and prior imprisonment for violence and drug-related charges.
In his victim impact statement, Ransley said he ‘does not sleep properly at night because his eye hurts and stings, and he suffers from depression and anxiety and finds it hard to go out in public because he fears that someone is going to hurt him’.
Justice Estcourt sentenced Job to two years and six months in prison, backdated to January 9 2023.
She will be eligible for parole in April 2024 after serving half her sentence.
