Man suffers 55% burns after being set on fire by woman he told ‘Stay in kitchen'

Hindustan Times

21-05-2025

An Australian woman has pleaded guilty to dousing her longtime friend in petrol and setting him on fire during a night of heavy partying after he made a misogynistic comment, a court heard earlier this month.
According to a report by ABC News, Corbie Jean Walpole, 24, admitted to one count of burning or maiming using corrosive fluid after the horrific attack on Jake Loader, 23, at a house in New South Wales, on January 7 last year. The two had been friends for years, but tensions reportedly boiled over during the early hours of a chaotic night of drinking and drug use.
The Albury District Court heard that both Walpole and Loader had been partying with friends in Howlong and returned to her backyard around 5am to continue drinking. The group was heavily intoxicated, and Walpole had also taken cocaine.
Throughout the night, Loader allegedly antagonised Walpole, attempting to wrestle with her and waking her sleeping boyfriend. She told the court she felt overwhelmed and didn't know how to handle his behaviour.
The court heard that Corbie Jean Walpole had been depressed and battling substance abuse at the time of the incident.
The situation on January 7 escalated when Loader reportedly told her that she should 'stay in the kitchen making scones' if she couldn't handle drinking with the boys. That sexist remark pushed Walpole over the edge.
She left the table, went to the garage, and returned with a five-litre petrol container. She poured it on Loader and waved a lighter at him.
'Go on, do it,' Loader said — and Walpole did. She ignited the lighter and touched him with it, setting him alight.
Loader suffered life-threatening burns to 55% of his body. He was placed in a medically induced coma for eight days and spent 74 days in the burns unit at Melbourne's Alfred Hospital. He underwent 10 operations and continues to face lasting effects: he cannot expose his skin to the sun, has trouble regulating body temperature due to damage to his sweat glands, and has experienced severe financial hardship, according to the ABC News report.
'This attack did not only hurt me, it hurt everyone who cared about me,' Loader wrote in a victim impact statement read in court.
Walpole appeared tearful in court on May 8, expressing deep remorse for her 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 was 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,' she said.
(Also read: 20-year-old Noida man suffers 35% burn, hospitalised after toilet seat explodes. No, it wasn't due to any gadget)