A sex worker bit her lifelong friend's face after a row after a funeral. It happened after the friend stepped in to calm an argument between Tyler-Jo Walker and her brother at the siblings' mum's wake.
Walker, 24, also slapped the woman, knocking her glasses from her face, after she thought she was siding with her brother. A court has now heard that the woman then told her that her mum "would be disgusted". At that point Walker launched at her friend, grabbing her face, biting her cheek and headbutting her, reports TeessideLive. The incident lasted no more than 90 seconds, with the victim running back into the The Longlands Club, in Marton Road, Middlesbrough.
Lesley Burgess, prosecuting, said: "Ms Walker was having an argument with her brother. The victim intervenes to try to stop this and calm the matter down."
They headed outside but the defendant believed her friend was taking her brother's side. In a victim impact statement, she described being shocked that she had been slapped across the face.
She made the comment about the defendant's mother as she picked up her glasses. Enraged Walker, of Embsay Close, Middlesbrough, then grabbed the woman and bit her left cheek, breaking the skin. The victim was also left with a painful bruise to her face after the defendant headbutted her on October 18, 2021.
Last year, Walker, who is a sex worker, was handed a 16-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting causing or inciting prostitution for gain. Newcastle Crown Court previously heard how a vulnerable teenager was pushed to prostitution after falling into debt with Walker, who turned out to be an escort.
The victim was shocked to discover she was selling sex and horrified at being told she'd have to prostitute herself to pay off £100 she owed her. She ended up sleeping with more than 30 men in two weeks for money, Chronicle Live reported.
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A court heard how she had sex with men who paid around £80 for half an hour in hotels in Newcastle and an apartment in Sunderland. Walker took around £700 of the cash made while the teenager made £3,000 in the two weeks before police rescued her after her mother found out what was going on.
At the time Penny Hall, defending, said Walker was 19 then and believed the girl was 18, adding: "It's very different to an offence involving child exploitation knowingly. The offence is over a relatively short period, just over two weeks. She thought she was helping someone who wanted to do the same work."
Appearing at Teesside Magistrates' Court on Monday, Walker, an adult content creator, admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm following the wake incident in October 2021. She is said to have known the victim for 22 years - who said at one time they were very close, but began to grow apart in the years before the funeral after Walker moved to Newcastle.
The court heard how the victim needed to go to hospital and had to have a hepatitis B jab following the bite. Paul Haswell, mitigating, said CCTV shows the injured party is vocal and is in Walker's personal space before the attack.
He said this was "not a pre-meditated attack" and she had no intention to cause serious injury. The case was adjourned for probation reports and she will appear at Teesside Magistrates' Court on May 17 for sentencing.
