Rising star jockey is accused of stabbing her ex-roommate in the back with a pair of scissors during row over stealing
- A young jockey has been accused of stabbing her ex-roommate
- A row allegedly erupted over alleged stolen items
- A court heard how blunt scissors were allegedly used
A young apprentice jockey viewed as a rising star in the sport has been accused of stabbing her ex-roommate in the back during a row over alleged stolen kitchen items.
Sariah Skye Champkin, 23, faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court last Friday on one charge of assault occasioning bodily harm whilst armed or in company, as well as one count of willful damage after allegedly stabbing another person with a pair of blunt scissors.
She also allegedly caused damage to another ex-roommate's vehicle.
Champkin has pleaded not guilty to the two charges relating to the incident, which involved three people from the Toowoomba racing industry.
The court heard that on March 6 2024, Champkin asked her roommates at the time to vacate a shared premises with immediate effect after she found kitchen items belonging to her in a box.
The three roommates were in the midst of moving out but had set a date to vacate of Mach 8, 2024.
When the roommates returned to the home, Champkin confronted one of them about the alleged stolen items, which included a cheese board and grated, cutting board, $200 cash and an airfryer, when the other roommate interjected.
Both former roommates admitted to stealing but denied taking all the items mentioned.
Rising star jockey Sariah Skye Champkin (pictured, right) has been accused of stabbing a female ex-roommate in the back
A court heard that Champkin was angered over the alleged theft of kitchen items when the attack she's accused of took place
The court heard that a brawl then broke out between the 23-year-old and one of the roommates, with both women throwing punches.
Champkin then allegedly pulled out a pair of blunt scissors, used to trim horses, and threatened her.
Nick Pratt, police prosecutor, claimed that Champkin threw the first two punches, which allegedly hit her ex-roommate in the face, before stabbing her in the back of the neck with the scissors, which left a small red mark and puncture wound.
'It devolved into a fight, Ms Champkin finished that fight by stabbing (her) in the back with a pair of scissors then held those scissors to her throat,' Mr Pratt said.
'There was an opportunity for her to effectively extract herself from the situation. It was unnecessary to use that force.'
Defence barrister David Jones KC contended that Champkin never held the scissors to the alleged victim's throat and merely pressed them to her neck in order to end the confrontation.
Champkin also admitted to verbally threatening her ex-roommate but denied stabbing her.
'I did push the scissors while they were shut down on the back of her neck,' Ms Champkin said in her testimony.
'I felt like I had no choice.
'I just wanted to get out of the situation.
'I was scared and nervous, I'd never been in a position like that before.'
Champkin was further accused of damaging a vehicle used by her ex-roommate. She allegedly threw a tall mirror as well as two wooden bedside tables over the property's fence, allegedly hitting the vehicle.
However, Mr Jones argued that it was impossible to throw the items over the 2m tall fence towards the car, which was roughly 3-5m away, due to Champkin's small frame.
Magistrate Lisa O'Neill has set a judgment date for July 26 at the same court.
