Bottle smashed on head from behind

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A woman has admitted smashing a glass bottle over another woman’s head during an unprovoked attack at a party.

The incident happened at the end of a night in which about 15 people had been celebrating a 50th birthday  at the Matakaoa RSA, Te Araroa, last July.

Elsie Kiri Collier, 29, and the victim were both invited. However, the woman had been keeping her distance from Collier due to an incident earlier that year in which Collier had jumped on her car and bitten her on the neck.

At midnight the bartender closed the bar and the guests were asked to move to an area outside.

The victim went to the bathroom. As she walked back to the outside area, she passed Collier. They didn’t interact but about five minutes later, without warning, Collier approached the woman from behind and smashed a bottle over her head.

The woman dropped to the ground and covered her head with her hands but Collier grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the ground.

Other people were yelling at Collier to stop but she punched the woman in the head twice and used her fingers to eye gouge her.

Collier then used her heel to stomp on the woman’s head twice. Others intervened to stop her stomping a third time.

The complainant suffered an open wound to her scalp, bruising to her face, swelling around one eye and an injury to it. She was taken to Gisborne Hospital.

When spoken to by police, Collier refused to comment.

She was subsequently charged with wounding with intent to injure, injuring with intent to injure, assault with intent to injure, and two counts of assault (laid under the Crimes Act).

Collier had originally intended to defend the charges at a jury trial.  However, when the case was called during a scheduling fixture ahead of trials in Gisborne District Court this week Collier pleaded guilty to the charges.

Judge Turitea Bolstad remanded her further on bail for sentence on August 8.