Natasha Quinn in hospital
Natasha Quinn is scarred for life
Victim Natasha Quinn
Alexandria McNairn pleaded guilty in court
Pretty make-up artist Natasha Quinn went with her friends for a night out but the innocent Belfast girl ended up being slashed in the face by a woman, as these exclusive pictures bloodily portray.
Now, Natasha is left scarred for life. But in an Ulster court last week she got scant justice.
For after months of a harrowing marathon having to attend Belfast Crown Court, with already frayed nerves jangling, Natasha had to face the woman who brutally – and without warning or reason – stuck a glass in her face.
As our pictures also show, Natasha, 27, was the victim of a horrific booze-fuelled incident that left her drenched in her own blood.
On Wednesday, after months of repeated court appearances, her attacker, Alexandria McNairn, 21, of Dumbarton Road, Glasgow, admitted the assault which left her victim requiring 17 stitches to a ghastly wound stretching from her forehead and down her face.
McNairn, described in court as a beauty therapist from Scotland, was released on bail after pleading guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding Belfast girl Natasha, with intent to do her grievous bodily harm.
But the plea bargaining, involving barristers behind closed doors, is understood to mean that McNairn will only be sentenced to 30 months in jail – after her eventual ‘guilty’ plea – and that half of that term will be spent on probation.
After McNairn’s plea, Natasha spoke of her relief that her attacker pleaded guilty – sparing her the ordeal of a trial.
“McNairn’s guilty plea has given me closure and I can now go on and live my life.
“I’m glad that I’ve got justice for what happened,” graphic artist Ms Quinn said.
Natasha Quinn before and after the vicious attack
In an emotional interview with the Sunday World, Natasha spoke of the incident which has left her emotionally and physically scarred for life.
Teary-eyed, yet resolute, she told us: “That night, I’d gone to the club with a lot of my friends from work. We were out on a work do.
“There were about 25 of us altogether and we’d been dancing all night, having a great time. Everybody was in a really good mood.
“I didn’t notice any trouble throughout the night, though a couple of my friends said they had a noticed a group of girls standing watching us and looking us up and down and stuff. I wasn’t aware of it though.”
What happened next was like something out of a horror movie as Natasha was set upon by Glaswegian McNairn in a completely unprovoked attack.
“After the attack I was unable to do simple tasks like going to the shop or just going out in public,” Natasha said.
“I was breaking down in tears every day, and I decided that I wanted to make sure I got justice.
“I was amazed when I saw her outside court how small she was and how she’d be capable of doing something like that to anyone.
“Still, to this day I’ve no idea why she decided to pick on me. It was so scary how she just snapped and attacked me.
“It was towards the end of the night and a lot of the people in our group started to go home. There were only about seven of us left dancing.
“I was dancing away when I felt a big kick to the back of my leg. That’s how my completely innocent nightmare started,”
Such was the force of the unprovoked kick it almost sent Natasha tumbling to the ground.
Confused and in shock she spun around to find a glass-wielding McNairn standing directly in front of her.
“When I turned around she was just standing there looking at me with a glass in her hand. The next thing I knew she had her hand around my throat, tightening.
“I dropped the glass I was holding and threw my handbag to the ground and tried to pull her hand away from my neck.
“She then began to break her glass into my face.
“At the time I didn’t really realise that she was hitting me with the glass. I thought she was punching me. All I could see was her hand coming up towards me, “ Natasha recalled.
It was when Natasha saw her own blood gushing down her own face that she began to panic, realising that something was seriously wrong as onlookers and friends came rushing to her aid.
“I realised that something was seriously wrong when so much blood started running down my face that I couldn’t see.
“All I could think was that I was being stabbed or something. I was terrified.
“Thankfully everyone managed to pull her off me. She was still holding on to me but I’d managed to get my hands up to cover my face. I could hear the bouncers shouting ‘let go’ at her. They managed to trail her away from me.”
It wasn’t until Natasha was rushed to hospital in an ambulance that paramedics and doctors were able to establish the seriousness of her injuries.
So deep and long was the laceration to her head she needed 13 external and 4 internal stitches.
“The biggest cut was across my forehead – that needed 17 stitches,” she explained.
“That’s right in the centre of my head. The doctor said the cut was so deep that it had scratched my skull.
“There were also two cuts at the top of my head as well, just where my hairline is. She also cut me on my arm and on my hand.”
Memories of that fateful and hate-filled night still haunt her...and Natasha says they always will.
“I do get very nervous now – especially if going out at night. I can’t go out unless I’m with a big crowd of people.
“When I do go out I’m always paranoid that people are looking at me. I even get paranoid about the way I dress. I’ve got really bad anxiety about the whole thing and I’ve been to counselling as well,” she said.
Natasha is gradually coming to terms with the physical scar inflicted upon her by her crazed attacker.
“I’ve been wearing a false fringe for quite some time to try and cover up the scar, but more recently I’ve been leaving the house without it, because it was becoming like a sort of a comfort blanket for me.
“I can’t put any make up on it or anything so that it’s free to heal.
“The scar is still visible and I’m very conscious of it. I work in make up and I’m really close up to people’s faces all the time, but I’ve learnt that it’s a part of me now and I’m not going to stop it letting me get on with my life.”
On Wednesday in Belfast Crown Court, with Natasha still watching from the public benches, Judge Gordon Kerr QC told self-confessed slasher Alexandria McNairn the fact he was giving her bail to return home to Glasgow was no indication of the sentence she could ultimately expect.
McNairn is due back in Belfast Crown Court in early April to hear the Judge’s verdict.
Said brave Natasha Quinn last night: “I’ll be there too.”