Latest news with #CorbieWalpole
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Corbie Walpole describes for the first time in her own words the moment she doused schoolfriend Jake Loader in 5 litres of petrol and set him alight
A woman who doused her childhood friend in petrol and set him on fire has revealed she could not go into a service station, look at a jerry can or fill her lawn mower with fuel after the senseless attack. Corbie Walpole has also described the moment she ignited Jake Loader as he sat in her backyard soaked in 5 litres of petrol and he 'suddenly went "woosh"'. Walpole was jailed for four and a half years last Thursday after pleading guilty to one count of burn, maim, disfigure or disable a person by use of a corrosive fluid. The attack occurred at Walpole's house in Howlong, near Albury on the NSW-Victoria border, when she was hosting a group of friends including Loader on January 7 last year. Walpole said she snapped when Loader, who she had known since high school and now lives on his parents' Queensland cattle station, told her she should be in the kitchen baking scones rather than out drinking with boys. Loader was left permanently disfigured, having suffered third-degree burns to more than half his body and spending 74 days in the burns unit of Melbourne 's Alfred Hospital. In a 10-page affidavit, 25-year-old Walpole prepared in April ahead of her sentencing in the NSW District Court, she set out to explain what she had done to Loader in her own words. Walpole disclosed she had considered taking her own life after setting 22-year-old Loader on fire and felt 'physically ill' when she saw his shocking injuries in photographs. She also conceded her drug and alcohol use had spiralled out of control as she dealt with the breakdown of a long-term relationship. Walpole met Riley Stone in 2019 and they bought a house in November 2022 but from early 2023 things between them became strained. 'We were regularly arguing, usually about Riley being lazy or immature and me having to organise and arrange everything in our lives and the relationship,' she said. 'It got the to the point a few months before the offence where I tried to avoid Riley as much as possible. I didn't want to go home and would try and stay out and socialise to avoid being home and being around him.' Throughout 2023, Walpole was consuming 15 to 20 standard drinks, half a gram of cocaine and one or two ecstasy pills, each weekend. She sometimes took speed and ketamine as well. 'Every now and then I would black out after drinking and taking drugs,' she said in her affidavit. 'Otherwise I thought I was in control. Looking back, I was clearly not in control. 'Alcohol and drugs were my escape and I was needing more and more of them to distract myself from feeling down and low. 'I remember feeling anxious a fair bit before the offence. However I did not really think about my mental health or have any insight or understanding of it. 'I always thought that whatever emotional issues I felt were ones I should just be able to deal with by myself.' On the night she set Loader on fire Walpole had taken about a third of a gram of cocaine and downed cider, homemade punch, whisky, rum and vodka - up to 35 standard drinks. Walpole, Loader and their friends had gone to the local golf club, a house party and a 21st birthday celebration during the evening. By the time the remaining revellers made their way back to Walpole's home at Howlong at was 4am. 'Jake had been antagonising me during the night,' Walpole said. 'He was telling me I needed to get back to the kitchen and that I was a girl. I gave it to him back, as I thought he was being a misogynist. 'He was really pushing my buttons.' About 5am, Walpole and Loader were sitting around an outdoor table drinking cans of Hard Solo with two male friends. 'Jake kept telling me I should be in the kitchen and making scones for them,' Walpole said. 'He said I shouldn't be out drinking with boys. He told me I was stupid. 'At one point I went to the garage and got the jerry can that was in there. I brought it out and poured petrol onto Jake's head. 'I then got a lighter and held it out and told Jake that, "I'll do it, I'll do it". Jake then looked at me and smiled and said, "Go on, do it".' Walpole recalled what she did next: 'I then lit the lighter.' 'Jake then suddenly went "woosh" and lit up in flames,' she said. 'He was on fire all over. He started running around the yard screaming and trying to get his shirt off. 'I remember him going to the pool. I could not believe what I had done. I freaked out. I started crying and shaking and saying, "What the f*** have I done? What the f*** have I done?" 'He just wouldn't stop. He was telling me to do it.' Walpole remembered a female friend hugging her. She ran out the front door and down to the Murray River. After that, much of what happened was a blur. 'I was in shock after the offence,' she said. 'I remember waking up at some point after being asleep and thinking it was a nightmare. 'I could not believe what I had done or that it was real. I was so worried about Jake and what had happened to him.' Loader, who spent eight days in an induced coma, had suffered third-degree burns to 55 per cent of his body and second-degree burns to a further 6 per cent. 'I could not leave the house after what I did to Jake,' Walpole said. 'I kept thinking to myself, "What the f*** have I done?" 'I thought for a few days that I had to kill myself because of what I had done... I stopped thinking about suicide after a few days. I realised I was thinking about myself and not about Jake. 'I lost 6kg in the first week after I committed the offence. I could not eat. I would see Jake burning every time I closed my eyes. I also saw him in my dreams. 'I would have flashbacks of Jake burning when I saw parts of the house.' The electrician returned to work three days a week in late February and after a month was back fulltime. 'After the offence for about one month I was not able to go to a service station,' she said in her affidavit. 'It was only when I returned to work and had to fill up the work van that I started attending service stations again. 'Since the offence I cannot look at a jerry can and I cannot fill up the lawn mower. I have to get dad to do this.' Before her sentencing Walpole re-read a statement of facts about her attack on Loader and looked at photographs of the injuries she inflicted upon his arms, legs, chest and face. 'Looking at the photos of Jake makes me feel physically ill that I caused those shocking injuries to him,' she said. 'I was devastated to see those photos and felt so appalled and disgusted at myself for what I did. I am deeply ashamed of what I did to Jake.' Of her alcohol and drug abuse, Walpole vowed in her affidavit: 'I have not touched them since and intend never to do so again.' Walpole said she deserved 'significant punishment' for her 'dangerous, reckless and stupid' conduct and knew that was exactly what she faced. 'I cannot imagine the pain and suffering Jake has experienced,' she said. 'I cannot imagine what his family, his girlfriend Annabelle (who was my good friend before I committed the offence) and everyone else who cares about him have been trough because of my conduct. 'I am responsible for that suffering. I do not make excuses for what I did because there aren't any. 'I understand I can never atone for what I did to Jake. My only hope is that Jake is OK.' Walpole will be eligible for parole in November 2029.
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside story of Corbie Walpole, who doused her friend Jake Loader with petrol and set him on fire because of an insulting comment: Chain of events that led to disastrous moment
Jake Loader met two girls who would forever change his life while he was boarding at St Paul's College in Walla Walla near Albury, where NSW is separated from Victoria by the Murray River. The first was Annabelle McGee, a local teen from Howlong. Loader and McGee would fall in love and later move up to his parents' cattle station outside Normanton in far north-west Queensland. The second was Corbie Walpole, a sporty kid from Albury who barely five years after leaving St Paul's would set Loader on fire in her backyard when he was back in town for what became a school reunion. Walpole claims she snapped and set Loader ablaze because he told her she should be in the kitchen baking scones rather than out drinking with the boys. Loader bears horrific physical and mental scars from an attack which caused third-degree burns to more than half his body, and McGee is standing steadfastly with him. Walpole is behind bars after being s entenced on Thursday to a minimum four and a half years in prison for one mindless act which has left the 25-year-old with almost no friends, expect her dog Nellie. Loader, who spent eight days in an induced coma and underwent 10 operations, described the results of Walpole's drunken madness in a victim's impact statement read to the District Court in Albury. 'There are moments that divide a life into before and after,' the now 23-year-old said. 'The day I was attacked by Corbie was that moment for me. Jake Loader (above) suffered burns to 61 per cent of his body when his childhood friend Corbie Walpole (not pictured) doused him in 5 litres of petrol and set him alight after the 22-year-old made what Walpole considered a misogynist comment 'What should have been old school friends catching up like old times turned into a traumatic event. 'This was not a single event with a single victim. The damage reached into my future and into the lives of those who care about me.' How Jake Loader and Corbie Walpole crossed paths Loader's parents Scott and Kaylene bought the 77,181 hectare Oakvale Station in South Australia in November 2016, stocking it with 3,500 ewes plus 2,000 lambs and weaners. The Loaders - who had previously lived in the NSW Riverina region - sent their two sons to St Paul's College, a co-ed Lutheran day and boarding school about 40km north of Albury which charges up to $25,000 a year in fees. Walpole, whose father Bruce runs a successfully surveying company, transferred to St Paul's from Trinity College in Albury to start Year 10 in 2016. She soon became friends with Loader and his girlfriend McGee. The group spent some of their time outside school at Howlong, a two-pub town 28km north-west of Albury which had a population of 2,777 in 2016. Walpole and McGee, an accomplished equestrian, both played for the Howlong Spiders in the Hume Netball Association's competition. Howlong's most prominent feature might be its renowned golf resort, which boasts of having the largest golf club membership in Australia. The town's existence was reaffirmed in 1999 when By The Time I Get To Howlong appeared on Riverina rock band Spiderbait's fourth album, Grand Slam, but the song's destination is not even mentioned in its lyrics. Walpole, who had worked part-time at Subway and Bunnings while studying, finished her HSC in 2018 and the following year began an apprenticeship with Engage Electrics. Loader graduated from St Paul's in 2019 as his parents were selling Oakvale Station, having decided to head north to raise beef in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Loaders bought the 39,700 hectare Broadwater Station for $5.5million in late 2020 to run Brahman cattle for the live export trade. Their son and McGee joined them at the property and still live there. Loader mustered cattle across northern Australia as he planned a career on the land like his parents. In his downtime he fished for barramundi and hunted feral pigs. Down south, Walpole had met Riley Stone and they became a couple in 2019. She'd had boyfriends back in high school but this was her first and only serious relationship. The earliest public sign Walpole might have serious problems with alcohol and self control came in May 2021 when security staff tried to eject her boyfriend for being intoxicated at Beer DeLuxe in Albury. Walpole, who was also drunk, came to Stone's aid and elbowed a female bouncer in the face. She pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and was placed on a 12-month conditional release order without conviction. Walpole finished her electrician's apprenticeship nine months ahead of schedule in October 2022 and in November she and Stone paid $390,000 for a three-bedroom house near Howlong Pony Club in Russell Street. According to a 10-page affidavit Walpole swore before she was sentenced for setting Loader on fire, her relationship with Stone had become strained and steadily deteriorated from early 2023. Walpole began drinking heavily and taking drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, speed and ketamine. Throughout 2023 she was consuming 15 to 20 standard drinks - as well as half a gram of coke and one or two MDMA pills - each weekend. Somehow, Walpole was still named runner-up as the Howlong Spiders C Reserve team's best and fairest player for the 2023 season. Walpole had no work over Christmas and while on holidays was taking cocaine and MDMA every couple of days. This was in the weeks leading up to the attack on Loader that has landed her in prison. Loader and McGee returned to Albury in early 2024 to visit friends and family. He was with mates at Howlong Golf Resort on January 6 when Walpole and Stone arrived about 8pm. Walpole had started drinking three hours earlier with a couple of cans of Somersby cider, then three or four glasses of homemade punch. Two slices of pizza were the only solids to pass her lips. At the club Walpole downed about five schooners of Canadian Club with dry ginger ale. 'Jake was at the club and hung out with us,' she said in her affidavit. 'I had not seen him for a while and understood that he had returned to town for a bit.' Walpole, who took cocaine at the golf club, and Loader were part of a group who went to a 21st birthday at Howlong where she had four to five cans of Hard Solo from 10pm. Next stop was a house party where Walpole had more cocaine, then it was back to the 21st where she switched to Bacardi and cola, draining two or three schooners of that drink. Walpole lights the flame: 'What have I done?' About 4am the remnants of the group made their way to Walpole's place at Russell Street where she, Loader and two male friends went to the backyard while Stone and others tried to get some sleep. Loader went into the house and tried to wake Stone by shaking him but was stopped by Walpole and the four remaining conscious friends sat around an outdoor table drinking. 'He was really pushing my buttons,' Walpole said of Loader's behaviour, claiming he had been antagonising her throughout the evening. Walpole sent a text message to McGee pretending to be Loader, saying his phone was flat, that he was too tired to go on, and asking 'can you please come get me'. Sometime around 5am, Walpole completely lost it. 'Jake kept telling me I should be in the kitchen and making scones for them,' she said. 'He said that I shouldn't be out drinking with boys. He told me I was stupid.' Walpole went to the garage and came back with a red jerry can containing 5 litres of petrol which she poured over Loader's head. Holding a cigarette lighter in front of her still-seated school friend, Walpole told him, 'I'll do it, I'll do it.' Loader smiled and responded, 'Go on, do it.' And then Walpole did. Loader was immediately engulfed in flames. He ran around the yard screaming and trying to take off his shirt, which melted onto his skin. Walpole held her head in her hands, saying: 'What the f*** have I done? What the f*** have I done? He was telling me to do it.' Loader had suffered third-degree burns to 60 per cent of his body and second-degree burns to a further 6 per cent. The injuries to his face, chest, both legs and arms were so severe he was flown to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne where he spent 74 days in the burns unit. About 3pm on the day she had set Loader alight, Walpole sent McGee a text message. 'Hey Belle,' she wrote. 'I wanted to let Jake know I'm really sorry for everything that's happened. I made a really stupid decision and I own that. 'It was a mistake and I wish I could go back in time. I hope he is okay. I am really sorry.' Walpole was arrested the day Loader woke from his coma and charged with one count of burn, maim, disfigure or disable a person by use of a corrosive fluid. She pleaded guilty in December. Loader is back on Broadwater Station with McGee and was not in court when Walpole was jailed for a maximum seven years and six months on Thursday. In sentencing, Judge Jennifer English said: 'This is a tragic case in so many ways for the victim and his family and for the offender and her family.' McGee told Daily Mail Australia her partner did not wish to comment on what was done to him and he had been experiencing anxiety with all renewed media attention. 'Jake hates the spotlight and being centre of attention on his best days,' she said. 'We are both hoping to put all of this past us as best we can today. 'It was not going to be great for anyone involved no matter the end decision.' Loader could not work for a year after the attack and in addition to the physical and psychological harm Walpole caused him he has been devastated financially. He cannot properly regulate his temperature because his sweat glands were burnt off and can longer be exposed to sunlight as he is highly susceptible to melanoma. 'This attack didn't only hurt me,' Loader wrote ahead of Walpole's sentencing. 'My parents are emotionally wrecked, constantly worrying about my well-being. My sibling has become withdrawn and overprotective. The emotional trauma has extended into our home affecting everyday conversations.' Walpole returned to work three days a week in late February 2024 and split with Stone several months later. Walpole kept the Russell Street house and lived there until she was jailed on Thursday. 'After the offence I lost most of my friends,' she said in her affidavit. 'I understand that I am to blame for this for what I did.' Walpole, who had realistic aspirations of a managerial role at Engage Electrics, has now been told there is no guarantee of a job when she is released. She still has the support of her parents and sister Ava but before she was locked up mostly turned to her dog for company. 'I feel that one of my only friends these days is Nellie,' Loader said in her affidavit. 'She is always there for me and I know she loves me unconditionally.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
He Made a Misogynistic Remark to Her at a Party. Then She Doused Him with Gasoline and Lit Him on Fire
After a night of drinking, Corbie Jean Walpole set her longtime friend Jake Loader on fire after he allegedly made a misogynistic comment to her Loader suffered third-degree burns to over half his body The Judge called Walpole's crime "unprovoked and violent" and she was sentenced to 7-and-a-half years in prisonAn Australian woman has been sentenced to 7-and-a-half years in prison for setting her friend on fire following a night of heavy partying — after he allegedly said a misogynistic comment to her. Corbie Jean Walpole poured gasoline on Jake Loader, who was 23 at the time, and set him ablaze as they were drinking in her backyard on Jan. 7, 2024, according to Australia Broadcasting Corporation. Walpole pleaded guilty to one charge of burning or maiming by using corrosive fluid, the outlet reported. On the day of the party, Walpole and Loader, who had been friends for nine years, had been drinking for 12 hours, ABC reported. Walpole consumed between 23 and 35 drinks and cocaine during the party. The 24-year-old attacked Loader after he allegedly told her to 'get back in the kitchen and not to drink with the boys,' the outlet reported. Loader sustained third-degree burns to 55% of his body and was in an induced coma for eight days. In court, Loader's friends heard him screaming and tried to put out the flames with a dog bed and then he was thrown into a pool, ABC reported. Walpole stood watching and said, 'What the f— have I done?' and, 'He told me to do it.'The judge overseeing the case described the act as unprovoked and particularly violent, fueled by drugs and heavy drinking, the outlet reported. '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,' Judge Jennifer English said. In court, Walpole said she was remorseful and that she has given up drugs and alcohol, ABC reported. She will be eligible for parole in November 2029. Read the original article on People
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Woman tradie who torched her mate in a petrol-fuelled inferno is SAVAGED by no-nonsense judge - as she's thrown in jail and tells sobbing family: 'It'll be OK
A woman who set her childhood friend on fire after he made what she deemed misogynistic comments has been jailed for a minimum four and half years. Corbie Walpole had hoped to receive a non-custodial sentence but was put away for a maximum seven years and six months after a judge rejected her plea for mercy. Judge Jennifer English rejected any suggestion Walpole had been provoked when she attacked Jake Loader in an act of 'destructive and horrifically painful violence'. 'It is never easy to send a young person, particularly a young woman, to jail,' Judge English said on Thursday. 'But where appropriate it is something that must be done.' Walpole arrived at the NSW District Court, sitting in Albury on the NSW-Victoria border, with her parents and sister shortly before 10am. About an hour later when the electrician learnt her fate the 25-year-old turned to her distressed family and mouthed, 'It'll be OK, it'll be OK'. Walpole had faced a maximum 25 years for setting Mr Loader ablaze as he sat on a chair in her backyard at Howlong, about 30km west of Albury, early last year. Ms Walpole torched her childhood friend Jake Loader after a night drinking on January 6, 2024 The pair met when Mr Loader went to boarding school at St Paul's College at Walla Walla, about 40km north of Albury, and had been friends for at least nine years. Mr Loader, who lives in the Queensland Outback where he musters cattle, was in Howlong to join old friends including Walpole for a night on the drink which included celebrating a 21st birthday. Walpole claimed Mr Loader had been baiting her before she poured 5 litres of petrol over his head and used a cigarette lighter to turn him into a human torch. 'He was antagonising me,' she previously told the court. 'He told me to go to the kitchen where I belong because I'm a girl. I gave it back to him and called him a misogynist.' Judge English rejected any suggestion Walpole, who claimed she had felt 'challenged and disrespected in her own home' had been goaded into doing what she did. 'I find that the assault upon the victim was unprovoked,' the judge said. Walpole wiped tears from her eyes as Judge English recounted the night that changed Mr Loader's life forever. Mr Loader was 22 and Walpole was 23 when they began drinking with mates about 8pm on January 6, 2024 at Howlong Golf Resort. Two hours later they went to a 21st birthday party at Howlong, then kicked on to a house party at North Albury, and returned to the birthday gathering about 2am. The group's final stop was Walpole's home, where they settled into the backyard about 4am. Some of the revellers, including Walpole, had taken cocaine earlier in the evening and most had retired to the Russell Street house, where Walpole's partner was sleeping, within an hour. Judge English said Walpole had begun drinking at 5pm, downing bottles of cider, schooners of Canadian Club and Bacardi and cola, and cans of Hard Solo. An expert estimated Walpole had consumed 23 to 35 standard drinks over 12 hours and would have had a blood alcohol level between 0.22 and 0.38. In all that time she had eaten only two slices of pizza. Walpole claimed Mr Loader had been antagonising her throughout the evening, trying to wrestle her and wake her sleeping boyfriend. 'He was really pushing my buttons,' she said. 'I was feeling overwhelmed by [Mr Loader's] presence and I didn't know what to do.' Walpole snapped when Mr Loader said she should be in the kitchen baking scones, rather than out drinking with boys. Walpole had a can of Hard Solo in her hand when she erupted. Walpole got up from an outdoor table and went to her garage where she collected a 5 litre jerry can of fuel, went back to the table, poured the petrol over the seated Mr Loader and waved a cigarette lighter around. 'I'll do it,' Walpole said. 'I'll do it.' Mr Loader replied: 'Go on, do it.' Walpole carried out the threat and Mr Loader was immediately engulfed in flames. Mr Loader, who ran around the yard screaming, tried to pull off his shirt but the melted fabric stuck to his skin. Two male friends extinguished the fire by plunging Mr Loader into a small pool. Walpole held her head in her hands and said: 'What the f*** have I done? He was telling me to do it.' Mr Loader was taken by ambulance to Albury Hospital then flown to The Alfred in Melbourne where he spent eight days in a coma, 74 days in the burns unit, and underwent 10 operations. He had suffered third degree burns to 55 per cent of his body and less severe injuries to an additional six per cent. Those injuries were spread across his back, chest, arms, legs and face. Judge English described Walpole's deeds as 'deliberate acts committed in the presence of others'. 'For those present it must have been truly horrific to be witness to,' she said. 'It was an act of immediate, destructive and horrifically painful violence.' Mr Loader can no longer expose his skin to the sun and his body struggles to regulate its temperature because his sweat glands were burnt off. 'It will affect the rest of my life,' Mr Loader said in a statement read by Crown prosecutor Max Pincott earlier this month. Walpole pleaded guilty in December to one count of burn, maim, disfigure or disable a person by use of a corrosive fluid and has been on bail for the past 16 months. At a pre-sentence hearing, Walpole wept on in the witness box as she unsuccessfully attempted to explain what she had done. 'I wasn't thinking,' she repeatedly said when asked about her actions. 'I didn't want to injure Jake.' Judge English did not accept Walpole's contention she was unaware putting a cigarette lighter to a man soaked in petrol would set him ablaze. 'I find that position difficult to believe,' she said. Judge English also rejected Walpole's claim she had set out to scare Mr Loader, rather than harm him. 'She threatened to set fire to the victim and she did exactly that,' she said. Further, Walpole should have known the consequences of lighting the petrol would likely be catastrophic - 'which is exactly what occurred'. The court heard Walpole, who pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily after a scuffle with a pub bouncer in 2021, had been abusing drugs and alcohol from late 2022. She had been in a failing relationship which left her feeling trapped and depressed early last year but admitted that was no excuse for setting fire to Mr Loader. 'Jake didn't deserve what happened,' 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.' In the months leading up to the attack, Walpole had been taking 1 gram of cocaine and two to three ecstasy tablets as well as drinking heavily every weekend. She was also occasionally using ketamine and meth. Judge English found Walpole had engaged in 'nothing short of drug and alcohol-fuelled violence' rather than becoming aggressive due to her depression. She described the attack on Mr Loader as 'not uncharacteristic' considering she had previously admitted assaulting the bouncer in 2021 when she was intoxicated. Judge English mentioned several times that Walpole and Mr Loader had been friends. 'This is a tragic case in so many ways for the victim and his family and for the offender and her family,' she said. Walpole has exhibited symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder since the attack and constantly replays the events of the fateful morning in her head. She experiences nightmares and intrusive thoughts and clearly remembers the 'bewildered' look on Mr Loaders' face when he stepped out of the pool covered in burns. Walpole, who Judge English accepted was extremely remorseful, did not leave her house for a month after the attack and the smell of petrol now triggers a traumatic reaction. She has given up alcohol and drugs and is undergoing counselling. Judge English received character references from Walpole's mother, father, sister, employer and netball coach at the Howlong Spiders. All spoke of her in glowing terms. Despite Walpole having excellent prospects of rehabilitation and being highly unlikely to reoffend, Judge English said no sentence other than full-time custody would be appropriate for her offending. Walpole's sister burst into tears when Judge English said Walpole would first be eligible for parole on November 11, 2029. Walpole did not express emotion and had to wait five minutes before two Corrective Services officers arrived to take her to the cells below the court house. She waved goodbye to her family in the public gallery as Judge English said, 'Take the prisoner downstairs please'.
ABC News
08-05-2025
- ABC News
Woman doused friend in fuel, set him alight for misogynistic comment, court hears
A woman who angrily doused an "old friend" in petrol and set him alight for making a misogynistic comment was suffering from depression and substance abuse, a court has heard. Corbie Jean Walpole, 24, earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of burning or maiming by using corrosive fluid. Her victim, Jake Loader, was 23 when he was found with life-threatening burns at a southern New South Wales home in Howlong on January 7 last year. Walpole tearfully appeared before the Albury District Court today expecting to be sentenced. Violent response The lifelong friendship between Walpole and Mr Loader became strained by antagonistic behaviour between the pair in the hours before she set him alight, the court heard. Corbie Walpole (left) walks into the Albury District Court on Thursday. ( ABC Goulburn Murray: Philippe Perez ) Mr Loader and Walpole had been partying in Howlong with friends and returned to her backyard about 5am to keep drinking. Most of the group was heavily intoxicated, and Walpole had consumed cocaine. Jake Loader sustained life-threatening burns in Howlong. ( Supplied: GoFundMe ) Walpole had described Mr Loader as being antagonistic towards her throughout the night, trying to wrestle her and wake her sleeping boyfriend. "I was feeling overwhelmed by [Mr Loader's] presence and I didn't know what to do," she told the court. Her anger then flared when Mr Loader told her she should stay in the kitchen making scones where she belonged, and not to go drinking with boys. Corbie Walpole (centre) arrives at court in Albany with family members. ( ABC Goulburn Murray: Philippe Perez ) She left the table where they were drinking to collect a five-litre container of petrol from her garage, and poured it on Mr Loader before waving around her lighter. Mr Loader said, "Go on, do it," before Walpole set him on fire. 'Pushed her over the edge' The court heard that Walpole had been in a relationship at the time that had left her feeling trapped and depressed, and led to her abusing drugs and alcohol from late 2022. Her legal representative, Peter Neil SC, said Walpole had been antagonised by Mr Loader consistently throughout the night, which "pushed her over the edge". "She simply had completely lost it," he said. Mr Neil said the incident was exacerbated by her drug and alcohol abuse. Crown prosecutor Max Pincott said Walpole had plenty of time to calm down. "You could have walked away from this, couldn't you, but you didn't," he said. Mr Pincott said Walpole's actions were so far beyond reasonable proportion that there was no argument of provocation. 'No one deserves what happened' Walpole sobbed intensely on the witness stand as she described the shock of her own violent 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. Corbie Walpole attended sentencing the Albury District Court. ( ABC News: Annie Brown ) "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." Life turned 'upside down' Mr Loader did not attend court but his victim impact statement read by the Crown highlighted how the crime had traumatised his life. Mr Loader sustained burns to 55 per cent of his body, was in an induced coma for eight days, spent 74 days in a burns unit at Melbourne's Prince Alfred Hospital, and underwent 10 surgeries. Mr Loader can no longer expose his skin to the sun, and struggles with temperature regulation as his sweat glands were burnt off. He also lost income, and financial pressure was put on his family who travelled to be with him. "This attack did not only hurt me, it hurt everyone who cared about me," his statement read. Walpole is due to return to court for sentencing later this month.
