Jordan Spencer: Shepparton woman jailed for 13 years over petrol fire attack on Paris Carpio

A mother-of-five who threw a bowl of petrol over a young woman and set her alight has been condemned by a judge for the “shocking and heartless” crime.

Jordan Spencer, 34, faced the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday where she was jailed for 13 years after pleading guilty to intentionally causing serious injury to Paris Carpio in circumstances of gross violence.

Handing down the sentence, Justice Andrew Tinney said Ms Carpio, then 20, was visiting family and friends in the northern Victorian city of Shepparton on January 15 last year when her life was changed forever by Spencer’s “act of cruelty and inhumanity”.

Ms Carpio was drinking with a friend at Rigg Reserve about 4pm when she encountered Spencer’s boyfriend, Rob McLaren, who knew her friend.

Later that afternoon, Mr McLaren, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, took Ms Carpio’s e-scooter and rode off.

About 5.34pm, Ms Carpio attended Spencer’s home “clearly intoxicated, upset and volatile” looking for Mr McLaren and her e-scooter, the judge said.

Justice Tinney told the court Ms Carpio became increasingly agitated, shouting and punching and kicking the front door.

She left, but returned later after 6.30pm after seeing Mr McLaren riding the e-scooter on a nearby street, smashing a front window.

At this point, Spencer goaded Ms Carpio to enter the home.

“Come in. The door’s open, come through the door, and I’ll give you what you deserve,” she said.

Ms Carpio retreated and Spencer followed her outside, flinging a bowl of petrol over her and setting her upper body on fire.

Bystanders rushed to put out Ms Carpio and Spencer walked off, with both women being flown to Melbourne for treatment for burns.

Spencer was arrested days later and, when questioned if she knew why she was in custody, told police; “yeah, because that b---h came onto my property”.

Inside her home police discovered a jerry can with two litres of petrol on a kitchen bench and a lighter on the dining table.

In recorded jailhouse calls, Spencer blamed Mr McLaren for “causing the whole instigation of the f--king argument” and claiming she was “f--ked” because he hadn’t removed the CCTV recording.

“Yeah, well you didn’t come to fix what you started so I had to,” she said.

Spencer claimed Mr McLaren had placed the bowl of petrol by the door as a home defence tool and that she had acted in fear of Ms Carpio.

Justice Tinney rejected both claims.

He found Spencer had poured the petrol in preparation for an attack on Ms Carpio and she acted “predominantly out of anger”.

“The use of fire as a means of inflicting serious harm upon another is shocking and heartless conduct,” he said.

“In this case, for some time at least, you planned to do so, in the knowledge of the catastrophic consequences which would follow. Your conduct was vicious, cruel and appalling.

“Paris Carpio was an unarmed and helpless 20-year-old woman whom, notwithstanding the excesses of her behaviour on that awful afternoon, you had no reason to fear.”

Justice Tinney noted that, sadly, the use of accelerant and fire had not been an unusual mode of attack in recent years.

Spencer will first be eligible for parole in January 2033 after serving nine years of her sentence.