Model who bit woman sacks barrister for saying she looks ‘a million dollars’

A model who bit a woman’s leg after a boozy day at the races sacked her barrister after he said she looked ‘a million dollars’.

Eliza Peereboom, 23, took the dramatic decision to ditch her lawyer in court after he praised her appearance.

Proceedings were halted after she sacked her defence barrister Thomas Quinton over the ‘million dollar’ remark, which he made as she strolled into Reading Crown Court sporting sunglasses, high heels and smart clothes.

The lawyer said: “The defendant is very unhappy with what I have said in court so Miss Kate Parker will be defending her from now on.

“The defendant is not talking to me, she is talking directly to the probation service.”

He previously said the defendant had been ‘doing the best she can to feel some value’ and attempted to paint a picture of her as buying her clothes from Primark and ‘wearing £2 sunglasses’.

The court heard that Dutch-born Peereboom currently resides with family friends in Amsterdam, making it difficult for her to complete unpaid work.

Before being sacked, Mr Quinton said: “The defendant’s understanding of an overnight coach to the UK every weekend to do the hours was that she does not need to spend any money other than the £8 coach fare – there seems to be a lack of understanding of the practicalities.

“The court needs to understand that it is dealing with somebody with a traumatic brain injury.”

An earlier hearing heard how Peereboom savagely bit Gabriella Marabet above the knee when on a train back from Newbury races in August last year.

The victim was left permanently scarred and needed three months of tetanus injections.

She also pulled Ciara Jones and Nicole Deadfield’s hair in the fight.

Judge Campbell said: “I feel I am left with not many options. You are 23 years of age and you were found guilty of assault by beating and causing actual bodily harm while on a busy train, which in my view, was deeply unpleasant and animalistic.

“Your sarcastic demeanour could be seen on the CCTV footage as you pulled a victim’s hair hard and removed it from her head in clumps.

“What ensued can only be described as a scrum and you lost control of yourself. Miss Marabet was trying to get past you when her leg was bitten causing a permanent scar and needing tetanus jabs.”

The judge added that Peereboom’s previous warning in 2011 for biting a police officer when she was 15 years old and her difficult upbringing, having been put in care at the age of 14, had to be taken into consideration.

She suggested that under the exceptional circumstances. she was going to defer sentencing for two months while Peereboom could either find a place to live in the UK to undertake her unpaid work or get herself a job to pay compensation.