Gruesome new details of a neighbourhood dispute that ended in a woman being torched alive have been revealed as her attacker was jailed for 13 years.
Paris Carpio, 20, suffered severe burns on her upper body when Jordan Spencer, a 34-year-old mother of two, set her on fire after dousing her with petrol during a trivial dispute about a missing e-scooter.
On Wednesday, Spencer was handed a 13-year prison sentence, with a minimum of nine years before she can apply for parole, possibly allowing her to be released in just over seven years due to time already served.
The horrifying incident was captured on Spencer’s own CCTV system outside her home on Middlesex Crescent in Shepparton, located in northern Victoria, on January 15, 2024.
In sentencing, Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Andrew Tinney outlined the shocking final moments leading up to Ms Carpio being engulfed in flames.
The court was informed that Ms. Carpio went to Spencer’s residence in a distressed state because Spencer’s boyfriend had rode away on her e-scooter following a boozy afternoon at the local park.
Ms Carpio had only been in town for the day visiting relatives.
The attack happened after police had already attended Spencer’s property following an earlier visit from Ms Carpio to the address.
Paris Carpio (pictured) had her ‘entire head’ set on fire after an argument outside a home in Shepparton, in Victoria’s north, last year
Officers had told Spencer to call them if she returned, but the meth addict mother took matters into her own hands.
‘You and Ms Carpio traded insults,’ Justice Tinney said.
‘At one point, you told her that her dad had probably knocked himself, implying that he’d committed suicide for having a daughter like her.
‘You consistently invited Ms. Carpio inside, at one point saying, “Come in, the door’s open, come through the door, and I’ll give you what you deserve,”’ the court heard.
Suspicious, Ms Carpio retreated to the front yard in the hope Spencer’s own cameras would prevent an attack.
She was wrong.
‘You had armed yourself with the bowl of petrol and the jet lighter in preparation for attacking Ms Carpio,’ Justice Tinney said.
‘Just before 6.30pm, you opened the security door and walked outside, carrying the bowl of petrol and the jet lighter.
‘You moved directly towards Ms Carpio, who was standing on the footpath some metres from the front door.
‘She asked, “Where’s your man now?” and you replied, “Where’s my man?” before throwing the contents of the bowl directly onto her face and hair.’
Jordan Spencer (pictured), lit the fire that engulfed Ms Carpio after accelerant was thrown on her
‘As the two of you grappled, you moved the lighter towards her face, operating the mechanism, but the lighter did not ignite.’
The court heard Spencer repeatedly attempted to ignite the lighter as the pair fell to the ground.
‘Just before you hit the ground, the lighter ignited, setting fire to Ms Carpio’s hair, head, and upper body,’ Justice Tinney said.
‘You landed on top of her on the ground, causing you to be partially set alight.
‘You rolled off from Ms Carpio, watching her burning and got up, picked up your lighter from the ground and went inside your home.’
The court heard Ms Carpio bolted directly into a tree before falling into the gutter ablaze.
Justice Tinney described how Ms. Carpio ended up across the street, collapsed in the opposite gutter as she desperately tried to extinguish the flames by rolling on the road.
‘She remained alight for about 64 seconds before one of the bystanders succeeded in pulling her upper garment from her body.
‘A garden hose was then used by a resident to fully extinguish the flames.’
One witness described the awful sight of what the fire did to Ms Carpio once it was extinguished.
Ms Carpio sustained 50 percent full-thickness burns to her head, neck, chest, left arm, and right arm, and to 30 percent of her total body surface area
Ms Carpio after the vicious attack by Jordan Spencer
‘She looked to him like a melting candle as he saw her skin peeling off her body,’ Justice Tinney said.
‘He was extraordinarily traumatised by what he observed and described the harmful effects upon him in his victim impact statement.’
Ms Carpio further revealed the devastating impact the attack had on her body and mind.
‘As she put it, 15 January 2024 marked a moment in time when her life was changed forever by your act of cruelty and inhumanity,’ Justice Tinney said.
‘It was the beginning of a long, agonising journey, which continues to this day and will never end.
‘The horrifying images of what you had done to her were played over and over in her head.
‘There was no escape, and every time she closed her eyes, she relived the attack upon her.’
The court heard Ms Carpio now rarely left her home and faced a life of hardship and pain.
‘She feels like a monster and constantly fears further attack upon her. The physical and mental pain never ceases,’ Justice Tinney said.
‘She has a sense of her life having been stolen from her and being left to live in a body which is no longer hers.’
Detectives from the Arson and Explosives Squad were dispatched to the scene (pictured)
Both Ms Carpio and Spencer were airlifted from Middlesex Crescent (pictured) to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne after the attack
Ms Carpio’s family has established a GoFundMe page to try and help in her recovery.
Justice Tinney condemned Spencer for the brutal attack, declaring she had planned to torch her victim on the day.
‘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.’
He dismissed a defence argument Spencer had acted out of fear when she used fire against Ms Carpio.
‘I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that you acted solely out of anger,’ Justice Tinney said.
Justice Tinney said his sentence took into account Spencer’s childhood and early guilty plea when the prosecution dropped an attempted murder charge.
