Beautician and the sister she was getting ‘wedding ready’ attacked frail seamstress,79, and her husband in row over her bridal gown, court hears

A beautician proudly told friends she had helped her sister get ‘wedding ready’ just days after they both attacked a petite seamstress and her husband in a row over her wedding dress, a court heard.

Siblings Julia and Jessica Shelley held hands in the dock at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, January 12, as they were sentenced for an incident where they ‘argued’ with an elderly couple over a wedding dress.

One of the pensioners, who was ‘vulnerable due to a disability’, was left with permanent scars after bride-to-be Julia Shelley and her younger sibling Jessica confronted the man and woman in their own home.

The 79-year-old ‘family friend’ had been commissioned to make alterations to Julia Shelley’s wedding dress, but Julia was apparently dissatisfied with the state of the craftsmanship which led to the nasty altercation.

In the bizarre incident, the pair also stole a bag of substances from their victims.

Jessica, who works as a hair and makeup artist, shared on Facebook on August 19 how she helped her sister Julia get “wedding ready.” The message read: ‘I am always honored to help my clients prepare for their big day.’

The post was shared just days after the wedding dress scrap incident on August 10, which left Robert Webb in hospital with ‘terrible injuries’.

Jessica shared photos from her sister’s wedding in a separate post on January 13, 2023: ‘Helping my big sister @shulijelly get ready for the wedding day was the highlight of my 2022!

Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday how Julia and Jessica Shelley visited Maureen and Robert Webb’s home on Pilling Lane in Lydiate at around 2pm on August 10, 2022.

Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, described how they both went upstairs to Mrs Webb’s sewing workshop, from where she ran her dressmaking business.

However, it was said that Julia was unhappy with the state of the needlework, and a ‘battle’ ensued with both the fiancée and the seamstress taking control of a bag of materials. Jessica Shelley, 33, then grabbed both women.

Meanwhile, Mr Webb, who was said to be ‘vulnerable due to a disability’, entered the room after hearing the ‘commotion’ and saw his partner fall to the floor before fleeing with the bag.

She was then chased by 38-year-old Julia Shelley, but the husband intervened by grabbing her wrist.

The defendant responded by “twisting out of his grasp,” causing the OAP to fall and hit his arm, scratching his skin. She then took Mrs. Webb’s bag of cloth, and both sisters left, leaving the elderly couple in pain and discomfort.

Mr Webb was taken to hospital, where doctors initially feared he might need a skin graft, although this operation was ultimately unnecessary. The couple then called the police to report the incident.

Officers then went to Julia Shelley’s home in Childwall and were told by her partner that she was ‘out for dinner’.

She later arrived at the address with her sister shortly before 9pm and both were arrested.

During an interview, Julia Shelley denied any assault and said she “knew Mr. Webb was weak and on dialysis.” Although she accepted that she took the materials, she claimed that they were ‘made available free of charge’.

When Jessica Shelley was questioned by detectives, she “accepted grabbing Maureen’s wrists.” However, she stated that she had done this ‘to prevent the matter from escalating’.

In a statement read to the court on her behalf, Ms Webb said she suffered pain in her hand which had a ‘major impact on her business’ – with these injuries meaning her changes now took ‘much longer’.

She also suffered from nightmares and flashbacks in the aftermath and woke up screaming during the night.

Her statement read: “I can’t believe this happened to me. It was so unnecessary.”

Mr Webb’s arm is said to have not yet fully healed and his wounds still bleed occasionally. Mrs Webb described her concern that her husband could have been ‘seriously injured or killed’.

She added: “I think about what would have happened if I had lost him. I don’t understand how they thought they could come to my house and do what they did, all for the sake of a piece of material.”

Both sisters have no previous convictions. Julia Shelley admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assault and theft.

She was given an 18-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work and told to pay £1,000 in compensation to Mr Webb, plus £1,400 in court costs.

Jessica Shelley, of Windsor Villas in St Hellier, pleaded guilty to assault and was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £135.

Both sisters, who were seen holding hands during the hearing, were also given a restraining order banning them from contacting Mr and Mrs Webb for five years.

Sentencing, Judge David Potter said: ‘Neither of you have any previous convictions. More than that, I have read glowing testimonials of your general character.

‘In the words of Maureen Webb herself: this should never have happened. It was all so unnecessary.

“As a result, you have all lost your hitherto good character. I have no doubt that you are deeply ashamed and ashamed of your behavior on that day.

‘It was, I am completely satisfied, completely out of character and I accept your sincere apologies. I am confident that you have shown appropriate remorse.

‘I have no doubt that the run-up to a wedding is a stressful experience, especially when it involves an unfinished dress.

“I can only imagine that was your motivation when you came to Mrs. Webb’s house. “You honestly lost your temper in a violent way. A struggle ensued over a bag of material.

“As you know Julia well, Mr. Webb is a man who has vulnerabilities and is not in the best of health.

“Your reckless actions caused him to fall, mauling his arm, causing horrific injuries in the form of huge flakes of skin being removed from his arm.

‘It was more luck than judgment that he wasn’t more seriously injured.

‘You can only imagine what his health would have been like if he had had to undergo surgery.

‘He has permanent scars on his arm and they have not yet fully healed. For both Mr and Mrs Webb, this was undoubtedly a frightening incident in their own home, a place where they both should have felt safe.”