A THIEF who snatched $300 out of a woman’s hand at an ATM, stabbed her partner, kicked a hospital security guard to the head and threatened to kill a shopper has been remanded in custody.
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Minda Quarrell, 41, of Queens Road, Warrnambool, appeared in the Warrnambool Magistrates Court charged wth eight offences including theft, five assaults matters, making threats and breaching bail.
In the incident involving her partner, Ms Quarrell was described as going berserk.
She has a long history of assaults going back to a Melbourne County Court hearing during 2005 for intentionally causing injury.
Magistrate Cynthia Toose denied Ms Quarrell bail due to the seriousness of the charges, the strength of the police evidence and the risk that she posed to the community.
Ms Quarrell was remanded in custody until July 9 and will be medically assssed due to her mental health issues.
She claimed that a lot of the evidence was mixed up or confused, her partner had moved out but she had the support of her mother and siblings.
“If I do go to prison I need to go home and pack some things. The community is not at risk,” she said.
Police said that on May 25 Ms Quarrell was walking east on Koroit Street while the victim was at the National Australia Bank ATM.
Ms Quarrell looked over the woman’s shoulder and noticed the account balance, said she had heaps of money and asked for some.
The victim got out $300 and Ms Quarrell snatched the cash from her and walked away.
The victim followed and asked for her money back.
Ms Quarrell first gave her $150, then another $100 but the victim persisted following the thief around central Warrnambool.
Ms Quarrell bought cigarettes at a shop and the victim collected the change, before police were called and she was arrested.
She told officers that the reason she committed the offence was that a family member tried to kill her the day before and she needed a reason to talk to police.
The victim knew Ms Quarrell.
On May 21 Ms Quarrell abused a shopper she did not know at a Coles supermarket, threatening to kill her twice.
The victim fled in a taxi and the driver was able to identify Ms Quarrell.
On May 26 Ms Quarrell was at her home with her partner, they argued and she called him by the wrong Christian name.
She grabbed a black handled knife, told him to get out of her home, threatened to kill him and then stabbed him twice to the arm.
Treatment included butterfly clips and stitches.
On December 30 she was at the Warrnambool Base Hospital when she kicked a security guard to the head, legs and body.
Police opposed bail saying Ms Quarrell was violent, aggressive and a danger to the public.
When questioned by police about the stabbing, Ms Quarrell said she thought the incident involved a “bad person”, not her partner.
“If I did that I don’t remember doing that and if I did that I should be locked up,” she said.