Toni Lee Patterson, 32, Ellie Patterson, 20, and Abbie Patterson, 19, punched and kicked the woman unconscious in an unprovoked and vicious attack, a court heard
Three ‘feral’ sisters launched a horror attack during a night out that left a stranger blinded.
Bullies Toni Lee Patterson, 32, Ellie Patterson, 20, and Abbie Patterson, 19, punched and kicked the woman unconscious in an unprovoked attack, a court heard. Their friend Tonia Louise Stott, 35, joined in the beating while the victim lay on the ground. Witnesses branded the attackers ‘feral’ and ‘bullies’ and their behaviour ‘vile’.
The victim was enjoying a night out when she was set upon by the four women. The group had earlier been refused entry to a nearby bar and were abusive to the doormen before walking away towards their victim who had no connection to them at all, a court heard. Ellie Patterson was the first to approach the victim and punched her to the face. She grabbed her hair and dragged her across the pavement. Toni Patterson then joined in and grabbed hold of the victim’s hair, before the pair dragged her towards the road, where she fell into the carriageway as a friend tried to protect her.
The court heard how Ellie Patterson then kicked the victim in her back while she was lying in the road unable to move. Toni Patterson stamped on the victim’s head twice, before kicking the victim fully in her face as Abbie Patterson stood over the victim’s motionless body.
A number of people gathered but Toni Patterson pushed through the crowd and once again kicked the unconscious victim in the head. The victim tried to raise her head off the floor, appearing dazed, before Toni Patterson again kicked her in the head with full force. Ellie Patterson then kicked the victim to the body, reports YorkshireLive.
As witnesses tried to give first aid to the victim, Stott pushed through the crowd and kicked the victim in her back. Despite attempts by door staff to restrain her, she repeatedly kicked out and spat at them. The victim was treated in hospital for facial fracture and a bleed on her brain. She was already blind in her left eye and this attack has left her partially sighted in her right eye.
The incident happened in Scarborough in October 2023. All four women pleaded guilty to affray and Toni and Ellie Patterson pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The defendants, all from Scarborough, were convicted at York Crown Court.
Toni Lee Patterson, was jailed for eight years. Ellie Patterson was sentenced to seven years in a Young Offender Institution. Abbie Patterson was sentenced to four months in a YOI, suspended for 18 months. She was also given an alcohol ban and unpaid work. Tonia Stott was jailed for one year.
Speaking after their sentencing, Staff Investigator Paul Thompson, of Scarborough CID, said: “This shocking and unprovoked attack has changed the victim’s life forever, not only has she lost most of her sight, she has to rely on her family to do the most simplest of tasks. The four defendants had the audacity to claim it was out of character because they were drunk.
There is simply no excuse whatsoever for what they did and the very least they could do was to plead guilty to this disgusting act of unprovoked violence. In a statement read out at court the victim said that she daily grieves for the ‘old me’ that she will never see again and that she doesn’t know what the future holds for her and misses being able to do the basic things she once took for granted.
“I applaud her bravery. She must now face the future almost blind, not to mention the psychological trauma she has endured through no fault of her own. But she has the support of those around her and I’m sure she will succeed, despite the ordeal that she has gone through. The four women are now rightly facing the consequences of their behaviour.”
