Geraldton woman Peta Marie Winmar pleads guilty to punching mother of three

A Geraldton magistrate has given a dressing-down to a 40-year-old woman who punched another woman in the face while her young kids were present. Peta Marie Winmar pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and trespassing when she appeared in the Geraldton Magistrates Court on Thursday following a “family dispute” on August 12. The court was told Winmar, along with two co-accused, started shouting at a 34-year-old woman while she sat in a car with her three young children and partner. Winmar then dragged the victim out of the car by her hair and punched her in the head several times, according to prosecuting Sen. Const. Dean Solman. While the victim was on the ground, the two co-accused kicked her in the stomach. The violent attack was captured on CCTV, with the 34-year-old mother left with a bloody nose and “other injuries”. A defence lawyer claimed the victim said “some unsavoury things” about Winmar’s son and the family dispute got out of hand. The lawyer said two of Winmar’s siblings had been murdered and her father died about a year ago from lung cancer, meaning she had become “very protective of her son and remaining family”. Magistrate Angus Hockton took those circumstances into account, but said fighting in front of young children was unacceptable. “To behave like this in front of children educates children this is what you do when you have an issue to be resolved,” he said. “It is also demeaning to the victim to have this happen in front of their children. “I want you to think about how you would feel if this was happening to you in front of your children.” Winmar was sentenced to a 12-month community-based order with counselling and supervision requirements.