The cleaner and aspiring esthetician attacks her ex-boyfriend in a violent home invasion after their ‘immature’ relationship sours.
- Tegan Lee Martin was imprisoned for two years
- She made a taser for her ex-boyfriend in a home invasion
- She was drunk and on drugs at the time
An aspiring esthetician has been jailed for at least ten months after breaking into the home of her ex-boyfriend and tasering him while he was drunk and on drugs.
Tegan Lee Martin, 24, rushes through the unlocked sliding doors of her former Jacob Teller home in Port Lincoln, South Australia, on October 6, 2021.
Mr. Teller, with whom Martin had been in a relationship for about five years, was in the bathroom when his ex-wife and co-accused suddenly burst in.
Martin used a taser on Mr. Teller while her partner allegedly elbowed him against a metal pole.
When Mr. Teller attempts to escape to the back door, he falls to the floor before being stabbed in the side of the head by his partner in Martin’s side.
Martin used the taser on him again before the couple fled the house.
Tegan Lee Martin, 24, has been jailed after she assaulted her ex-boyfriend during a violent home invasion in South Australia in October 2021
Mr. Teller suffered an 8cm laceration to his head and had to undergo emergency surgery with the wound cut to the bone.
Martin pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal trespass at place of residence, and one count of causing aggravated harm with intent to cause harm.
Adelaide County Court Judge Julie McIntyre said Martin and Mr Teller had separated some three years before the incident but said there was “clearly bad faith” between them.
“Your relationship was characterized by imbalance and immaturity on both sides,” she said in Monday’s ruling.
Judge McIntyre said the home invasion was “premeditated” and that Martin was “seriously intoxicated” at the time.
She said Martin struggled with addictions to marijuana, ecstasy, and alcohol but had not used any of these substances since her arrest.
Martin also has “significant issues” with her mental health for which she was hospitalized, and was found to fit the criteria for borderline personality disorder.
Justice McIntyre said the fact that Martin was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the home invasion did not excuse the pain she had caused Mr. Teller.
You have been an active participant in the assault on Mr. Teller, using the taser on several occasions. The fact that you were, at the time, under the influence of drugs and alcohol in no way excused you from your appalling behavior, she said.
The 24-year-old suffered from mental health issues and was addicted to marijuana, MDMA, and alcohol.
She added that it was likely Mr. Teller would never fully recover from the violent assault.
He suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He no longer feels safe in his home and has described feelings of anxiety, paranoia and depression.
Mr. Teller says he’s also developed short-term memory loss and has constant headaches because of his injury. It will be a long process before Mr. Teller makes a full recovery, if at all.
Judge McIntyre accepted that Martin had shown remorse, and took into account the month she spent behind bars after her arrest.
Martin was sentenced to two years and five months in prison.
She will be eligible for parole in December this year.
Martin had been working as a cleaner and hoped to work in skincare after completing more training in the beauty industry.
