Latest news with #JakeLoader
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.'
News.com.au
23-05-2025
- News.com.au
The petrol fire attack highlights a major double standard
OPINION A woman was sentenced on Thursday to seven-and-a-half years prison for setting her friend alight after a night of partying in Howlong, a town in southern New South Wales. The decision handed down yesterday triggered a strong reaction in me, but not in the way you might expect. In the early hours of January 2024, Corbie Jean Walpole, 25, poured petrol and set her friend, Jake Loader, on fire, after he made a sexist remark about how Walpole should go to the kitchen and make scones instead of drinking with the boys, the court was told. In the moments beforehand, Mr Loader is said to have goaded her, telling her to, 'Go on, do it,' which she did. His friends heard his screams and tried to extinguish the flames using a dog bed, before throwing him into a pool, according to the ABC. Despite their efforts, he suffered third-degree burns to over half his body. He has since been diagnosed with PTSD and is unable to expose his skin to sunlight. After reporting on Walpole's sentencing yesterday, I noticed a recurring theme in the public's reaction online. They were using this opportunity – the rare occurrence of a female inflicting violence against a man – to bring awareness to another issue … the way that violence against women is often minimised and justified by society. And to be honest, I completely get where the frustration comes from. How many times have you read a news article or a comment section that tries to excuse male violence? If you flip the script and use these same excuses for a case of woman-inflicted violence, such as this, it can really highlight just how absurd they sound. For example, could you imagine anyone suggesting this man was 'asking for it' by wearing something flammable, or asking why he didn't say 'no' more forcefully? You'd never see a headline that questioned whether or not he consented to this, or whether he changed his mind halfway through. Because of course, these are all utterly ridiculous questions to ask in the face of such a horrifying crime. People also love to use the 'bright future' defence, where offenders will appeal for leniency based on their youth or their athletic or academic achievements. This happened during the 2016 Brock Turner trial in the US, where former Stanford University swimmer Turner was convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, Chanel Miller, outside of a fraternity party. His legal team, and supporters online, tried to gain sympathy for him by drawing on his career as a promising athlete. Could you imagine someone saying, 'Walpole's future is ruined because of one man', or 'She's too young to understand what she did'? Don't forget about good character references, which are often used to tell a court that a convicted rapist is in fact, a decent human being. Do you remember the 2024 trial where a group of three men in Newcastle were found guilty of gang-raping teenagers during a bucks party? The victims provided harrowing evidence of what was perpetrated against them in their victim impact statements. Yet the convicted rapists were allowed to provide the court with 20 good character references that spoke to the men's caring nature and their respect for women. What about when high profile referees submitted good character references for Luke Lazarus, when he was found guilty, and later acquitted of the 2013 rape of 18-year-old Saxon Mullins behind a Kings Cross nightclub? It would feel highly irrelevant, given Walpole's crimes, to hear comments like, 'I know her personally and she'd never do something like that' or, 'She's such a nice girl, she wouldn't hurt a fly'. The point is, if men feel uncomfortable with women jokingly asking things like, 'Was he asking for it?' – it's because they know deep down how irrelevant they are. It's time that a mirror be held up and the double standard exposed. These lines of questioning need to stop, against any victim, regardless of gender.
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
News.com.au
22-05-2025
- News.com.au
Woman doused friend in petrol, set him alight after sexist remark
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.
