Refugee Strangled to Death by Husband in Hampton Park

A 33 year old woman was murdered in front of her two children.

Crime: Murder

Occurred:  20 November 2007

Where:  41 Michelle Drive, Hampton Park

Sentenced: 8 February 2013

Convicted:  Soltan Ahmad Azizi

Victim:  Marzieh Rahimi

What happened?
Sometime after 1pm on Tuesday, a neighbour heard a baby crying followed by a man and woman arguing and then a woman trying to scream.
Inside the house, the fight between Soltan and Marzieh escalated.  Soltan punched Marzieh several times in the head and face and strangled her to death with her scarf.  He rang police at 2:23pm to report what he had done.

The couple's marriage
Soltan and Marzieh were cousins who entered into an arranged marriage in Afghanistan when Marzieh was 19 years old and Soltan 29.  According to Marzieh's sister, Marzieh reported domestic violence from the very first night of the marriage.

The couple had two children during their four years in Afghanistan.  Their eldest daughter was killed by gunfire when she was three years old.

The couple and their remaining child fled to Iran as refugees and lived in the alleyways of Tehran, while Marzieh had two more children and Soltan worked as a cobbler and teaboy.  They came to Australia as refugees in 2005 and had another two sons, settling in Hampton Park in 2007.

The family home at 41 Michelle Drive, Hampton Park (source).

In the months leading up to the murder, the relationship between Soltan and Marzieh became hostile.  Marzieh was contemplating leaving Soltan, and had reported instances of domestic abuse to her sister (who was now residing in the USA) and social workers.  She was afraid of Soltan.  One conflict a few weeks before her death saw Marzieh locking herself in the bathroom with her two youngest children for a number of days.  On two occasions during this period she rang 000 for assistance but, unfortunately due to language difficulties, no assistance was provided.

One week before Marzieh's death, Soltan rang up Marzieh's sister and told her that Marzieh had changed religion, had become too Australian and was intending to divorce him.  Marzieh's sister then counselled Marzieh over the phone to reconcile with her husband, but Marzieh stated that she was going to leave Soltan and there were a number of organisations who could provide the support to do so.


Victim's background
Marzieh was only 33 years old when she was killed.  She has left behind five children who now under foster care.  Victim impact statements were also provided by Marzieh's mother and sister.

Marzieh suffered severe panic attacks and a social worker who spent some time with Marzieh suspected that she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder following her horrific experiences in Afghanistan.

Soltan Azizi in court (source).

Convicted's background
Soltan was 43 years old when he killed his wife. Born and raised in Afghanistan, he completed high school and studied economics at Kabul University for four years before dropping out to join the police force.

After the Afghanistan government fell in 1992, he and his family became the subjects of targeted violence. His mother and sister were killed in a house bombing, and his brother was captured and tortured by the Taliban. In 1998, Soltan and Marzieh's family home was attacked by gunmen and their eldest daughter was shot to death.

Upon moving to Australia, Soltan studied English at tafe but did not work.

Soltan had no prior convictions.
 
Outcome of trial:  Although Soltan admitted to police at the scene that he killed his wife, he pleaded not guilty to her murder and underwent a trial where he was found guilty and sentenced in 2010.  However, this verdict was set aside by the Court of Appeal who found that evidence of his abuse against Marzieh at his trial was inadmissible.  Accordingly, the Department of Public Prosecutions pursued a retrial, where Soltan again pleaded not guilty but a jury verdict found otherwise.

Sentence:  16 years minimum before eligible for parole, 20 years maximum.  The judge recognised that over 5 years of his sentence had already been served.

You can read the judgment here.  Media articles are here, here, and here.