A woman was killed by her psychotic partner in front of her 11 year old daughter.
Occurred: 8 August 2010
Where: Marilyn Street, Doncaster
Sentenced: 1 March 2013
Not convicted: Sestilio Cavallari
Victim: Susan Wood
What happened?
Sestilio and Susan had been in a de facto relationship since 1985. They had an 11 year old daughter, Tegan. In the days leading up to Susan's death, Sestilio was acting a little off. On 6 August 2010, he stood up his wife for lunch and later they had an argument. He also booked a ticket to Italy, telling the travel agent that he needed to go by 9 August because "something bad [was] going to happen". When the travel agent later rang to tell him that his Italian passport was expired and he wouldn't be able to use it for travel, Sestilio said he was already aware that was the case.
Susan was so worried by her partner, who was not talking much sense, that she rang her father to express her concern. She asked her dad and brother to come over, but Sestilio took the phone and said that it was not necessary. After another argument, Sestilio left the house and later returned, eventually tearing up his plane ticket. "I'm not going, but something's going to happen," he said.
Later that night, upon her father's request, Tegan slept in his bed. Throughout the night she heard him say, "They're gunna take me away, they're gunna lock me up and your mum will know what she's done to me."
The next morning, Tegan heard her parents arguing and then her mother started screaming. She ran into the bedroom to see that Sestilio was attacking and scratching Susan, and there was blood in her hair. Susan cried out for Tegan to call triple 0. Sestilio dragged Susan by her hair into the kitchen. By the time Tegan had called emergency services and returned to the kitchen, her mother had been stabbed 37 times. She died of wounds inflicted to her neck.
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| The street where Sestilio and Susan lived (source). |
Susan is reported to have been 52 years old when she died. She was an associate director of an investment group. She worked full time while Sestilio was the primary carer of Tegan.
Sestilio's background
Sestilio was reported to be 56 years old at the time of the murder. Medical experts at his hearing described that during the murder and afterwards, he was in a psychotic state. However, no underlying disorder (ie schizophrenia) had been diagnosed at the time of the hearing. One doctor noted Sestilio's wish to reconciliate with Susan's family, and that as Sestilio tries to maintain a relationship with his daughter in the future, he will be at increased risk of depression and a relapse into psychosis.
Before and during the hearing, Sestilio was a patient at the Thomas Embling Hospital.
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| The Thomas Embling Hospital in Fairfield (source). |
Outcome of trial
In 2012 a jury found that Sestilio was unfit to stand trial. A subsequent hearing occurred before a judge who, after considering the evidence of several medical professionals, determined that Sestilio was not guilty on the basis of mental impairment.
The judge noted that Susan's brother, Dr Graeme Wood, had been receiving "persistent" contact from the hospital where Sestilio was staying, which was "on the surface of it, appear[ed] to be extremely insensitive". The judge further observed that the particular order imposed on Sestilio did not enable conditions, but recommended that hospital staff discuss the issue with Dr Wood.
Sentence: Sestilio was made liable to a custodial supervision order and committed into the custody of the Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health. The nominal term of his order is 25 years beginning from 8 August 2010.
You can read the judgment here. A news article is available here. You can find more information about mental impairment and custodial supervision orders in the Victorian criminal justice system here.
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