Woman doused friend in petrol, set him alight after sexist remark

News.com.au

22-05-2025

A woman who doused a 'lifelong friend' in petrol and set him alight after being angered by his misogynistic comments has just been sentenced to seven-and-a-half-years in prison.
Corbie Jean Walpole, 25, pleaded guilty in December to one charge of burning or maiming by using corrosive fluid and had hoped to receive a non-custodial sentence.
However, she was told she would spend a minimum four-and-a-half-years behind bars after a judge denied her plea for mercy, according to ABC.
Judge Jennifer English said she rejected the claim that Walpole was 'provoked' when she attacked her friend, Jake Loader, on a night out in January last year.
'It is never easy to send a young person, particularly a young woman, to jail,' Judge English told the NSW District Court in Albury, shortly before 10am on Thursday.
'But where appropriate, it is something that must be done.'
She described the act as violence which was fuelled by alcohol and drugs.
'This is a tragic case in so many ways for the victim and his family, and the offender and her family: two young lives destroyed,' she said.
As the decision was handed down, supporters of Mr Loader cheered, while Walpole, who works as an electrician, mouthed to her distressed family, 'It'll be okay, it'll be okay'.
On January 7, 2024, Walpole hosted her friend of at least nine years, Mr Loader, who was 23 at the time, at her home in Howlong, in southern New South Wales.
They had been out partying with friends before they returned to her backyard at around 5am to continue drinking.
The majority of the group was heavily intoxicated, and Walpole had taken cocaine.
She said that Mr Loader was being antagonistic towards her throughout the night and even tried to wrestle her at one point.
On another occasion, he tried to wake up her boyfriend, who was asleep.
'I was feeling overwhelmed by (Mr Loader's) presence and I didn't know what to do,' she said in court, according to ABC.
The court heard her anger peaked when Mr Loader suggested that she stay in the kitchen making scones, where she belonged, instead of drinking with the boys.
She then left the table and headed to her garage, where she picked up a five-litre container of petrol.
She returned to the group and poured it on Mr Loader before waving her lighter at him.
He then teased her and goaded her to, 'Go on, do it,' before Walpole set him alight, the court heard.
'Completely lost it'
Walpole abusing drugs and alcohol from late 2022, the court heard.
According to her lawyer, Peter Neil SC, Mr Loader consistently antagonised Walpole throughout the evening, which ultimately 'pushed her over the edge'.
'She simply had completely lost it,' he said, adding that the incident was made worse by her drug and alcohol abuse.
Crown prosecutor Max Pincott pointed out that Walpole had plenty of time to calm down and could have walked away from the situation, but didn't.
He also said that Walpole's actions were so far beyond a reasonable response that there was no argument that she was provoked to act in that way.
'Horrible, remorseful, guilty'
While crying on the witness stand, Walpole said she was shocked by her own actions.
'To this day I feel horrible, remorseful, guilty for what I have done to Jake, not only Jake but his family, his loved ones, his mutual friends … anyone who has been impacted in this entire case,' she said.
'I find it very hard to believe the injuries that were caused (were) from my doing.
'I would do anything to go back in time. No one deserves what happened to Jake and I can't imagine the pain — both physically and emotionally — that I've caused him and his family.'
Burns to 55 per cent of his body
Mr Loader didn't attend court but sent a victim impact statement that was read aloud that explained how his life had been turned upside down by the violent crime.
He suffered burns covering 55 per cent of his body, spent eight days in an induced coma, and was hospitalised for 74 days in the burns unit at Melbourne's Prince Alfred Hospital, undergoing 10 surgeries and skin grafts.
Mr Loader is now unable to expose his skin to sunlight and has difficulty regulating his temperature as his sweat glands were burnt off.
He also lost his income, which added financial pressure on his family, who travelled to support him and pay for medical costs.
A GoFundMe was set up to raise funds for his recovery and has since collected $47,456.
'This attack did not only hurt me, it hurt everyone who cared about me,' he said in his statement.