A FAMILY feud has ended in court, as a woman pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
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Josephine Smith, 34, punched her second cousin in the side of the head at the petrol station on Marsh Street in an unprovoked attack the day before New Years Eve last year.
Appearing in Armidale Local Court on Monday, police prosecutor Sergeant Cheryl Hall played CCTV footage of the incident to the court.
“You’ll see Ms Smith coming across to her and hitting her in the side of the head,” she said.
Police had followed Smith into the police station to breath test her, just before 12:40am.
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The footage shows the victim coming out of the BP petrol station, before Smith rushes over from the right and punches her in the head.
Smith handed her purse to an unknown person and said, “Here, watch this – I’m gonna smash this motherf*****,” police evidence shows.
“You starting shit with my family all the time,” Smith said to the victim, according to police facts.
A lot of things [were] said and done on social media which had some effect on my client’s behaviour.
- Peter Kemp
After punching the victim in the head, Smith continued to push her in the back – when the victim swung a plastic bag full of food at Smith and ran between the bowsers to steady herself.
Defence solicitor Peter Kemp said Smith is seeing a psychologist for anger management and trauma.
“At the time of this incident there were three deaths in the extended family – a cousin and two aunts, so there was a lot going on with my client at that time,” he said.
“There was a lot of dissension in the family with all these funerals, a lot of things said and done on social media which had some effect on my client’s behaviour.”
The matter is adjourned to July 9 for sentencing.