BY KEITH LACEY
Two women who beat another woman into unconsciousness in a bar fight five days before Christmas in 2002 will find out in November if they?re going to jail or not.
Adrienne Maisonoquaiking, 34, and Dawn Bates, 33, were both charged with aggravated assault following the incident, which took place Dec. 20, 2002.
Both women pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of assault causing bodily harm Wednesday at the Sudbury courthouse.
Both women will be sentenced Nov. 12 after Justice Patricia Hennessy of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ordered pre-sentence reports be prepared by a probation officer for the accused.
The violent confrontation occurred inside and outside a bar in the Flour Mill, said assistant Crown attorney Guy Roy.
The victim was celebrating the fact she had finished her exams and had some time off from her studies at Laurentian University over the Christmas
holidays, said Roy.
The woman had a couple of drinks at the bar when Bates walked in around closing time, said Roy.
Bates and the victim had been lifelong friends since childhood, but their friendship had deteriorated in recent months, said Roy.
The night in question, Bates accused the victim of having an affair with her husband, said Roy.
Maisonoquaiking was a casual acquaintance of the victim and a good friend of Bates.
When the victim decided to go to the washroom, Bates pulled her into the hallway outside the bar and accused the victim of being a bad parent and
the victim responded by grabbing Bates by the forearms, said Roy.
Suddenly, the victim felt a tap on the shoulder by another person and Maisonoquaiking ended up punching her in the face once, which knocked her to
the ground. While on the ground, both women started kicking her repeatedly, with most of the blows landing on or near her head, said Roy.
The victim, at a preliminary hearing held earlier this year, didn?t remember how many kicks landed, but testified ?it seemed to go on forever.?
Even though she was badly injured, the victim remembered Bates grabbing her and dragging her outside the bar to continue the attack; however, a bartender intervened and called an ambulance.
Two ambulance attendants testified at the preliminary hearing they found the victim unconscious. Her eyes were so blackened they were almost closed shut and she had numerous bruises and cuts to her head and lips and a bloody nose.
At hospital, it was also observed she had swelling to her forehead and upper arm.
The victim also told police she had soreness to other parts of her body, some hair had been torn off the back of her scalp and she suffered from
headaches for some time after the attack.
Fortunately, the victim did not suffer any fractures or permanent injuries, said Roy.
The victim was hospitalized for 36 hours before being released.
Bates and Maisonoquaiking will remain under strict bail conditions free in the community until their sentencing hearing on Nov. 12.
