Dome Valley attack: Guilty plea halfway through trial

Nicola Jones, Julie-Ann Torrance
Nicola Jones and Julie-Ann Torrance in the High Court (Newshub.)

A woman accused of taking part in two attacks on a teenager has pleaded guilty to several charges halfway through her trial in the High Court at Auckland. 

Julie-Ann Torrance on Thursday admitted four charges, including three of assault with a weapon and one of injuring with intent. 

The charges relate to two incidents, the first in April 2016, where Torrance admits using a taser on the victim and cutting her hair with scissors.

During the second attack a month later, Torrance admitted assaulting the victim with a cricket wicket and stomping on her hand, breaking her finger.

Torrance denies another charge of assault with a weapon, sexual violation and attempted murder. 

She is on trial with four others over the two attacks, including Nicola Jones, Michelle Blom, Wayne Blackett and Cameron Hakeke. 

"Your daughter is history"

The victim's mother today gave evidence about how Jones texted her in January 2016, after she'd discovered the victim was supposedly having an affair with her ex-partner. Jones also accused the victim of causing her children to be taken away from her.

"I'm going to kill her," the text message from Jones read. 

The victim's mother has known Jones since she was 13-years-old.

During the exchange between the pair, the victim's mother told Jones she was wrong about the victim sleeping with her ex-partner. 

Jones said she was "absolutely gutted," and told the victim's mother "Your daughter is history".

Three months later in April, Hakeke allegedly lured the victim to his west Auckland address where she was ambushed by Jones and Torrance. The victim was tasered, had her hair cut off and was forced to sign over ownership of her car, which also contained most of her belongings.

She was then dropped past the Bombay Hills and told not to come back to Auckland. The victim hitchhiked to Taupō, where she saw her mother. 

"I didn't recognise her at first," her mother told the court on Wednesday. 

"The first thing I recognised was her hair was all cut off, she was crying."

She says her daughter told her what had happened. 

"She looked a mess.

"She was upset, distraught."

The victim's mother tried tidying up her hair by cutting it to the same length. 

"She said she was returning to Auckland to find her car and her belongings.

"I did try to tell her it was not a good idea."

Around two weeks later the victim's mother identified her daughter in hospital, after she'd been found by a member of the public badly beaten and unconscious on a Dome Valley roadside.

She was kidnapped from Karangahape Rd where she'd been working as a prostitute, before being taken to Blom's Glen Eden house where she was allegedly stripped naked, beaten with a cricket bat, sexually violated and had her hair cut again. 

The victim gave evidence to say she was kept in the basement for 20 hours with no water, and cable ties around her wrists and ankles. 

The Crown alleges Torrance, Jones and Blackett later drove the victim to Dome Valley where they tried to strangle her, before she was hit over the head with a hammer multiple times. 

Blackett has admitted one charge of attempted murder - a charge denied by Jones and Torrance. 

The trial is set down for two more weeks. 

Newshub.