Fatal Beating in Brooklyn for Wife's Lover

A 34 year old man was beaten to death outside his own factory.

Crime: Murder

Occurred: Sunday, 30 October 2011

Where: 19 Industry Park Drive, Brooklyn

Sentenced: 5 April 2013

Convicted: Mark Budimir

Victim: Dino Moresco

What happened?
Jana, Mark's wife, ran a nursery in Footscray called "Garden Door".  She purchased garden ornaments from Dino, who ran a manufacturing business in Brooklyn.  Jana began a sexual affair with him the day after he, her, and Mark had gone out together to celebrate her birthday in August 2011.  At this stage, Mark was unaware of the relationship between his wife and her garden ornament supplier.

In September 2011, after months of Jana threatening to leave the marriage, she left for a weekend away with Dino, while Mark stayed at home with the kids. Following the weekend, Mark learned from a friend that she had attended a nightclub with Dino. He also suspected Dino had joined her in Sydney the following night. Upon her return, Mark discovered racy text messages on her phone, and he realised that Dino and Jana were more than business associates.

A few days later, Mark drove over to Dino's factory in Brooklyn and threatened that if Dino did not leave Jana alone, Mark would put him on the "front page of the newspapers".


From left to right: Mark, Jana and Dino in happier times (source).

Soon afterwards, Jana told Mark to leave the matrimonial home because the marriage was over. In response, Mark slapped Jana across the face several times and then locked her in the bedroom.  Police were called, and Jana later applied for an intervention order. Mark was also convicted for false imprisonment and assault in relation to the bedroom incident, for which he received a suspended sentence.

On Sunday, 30 October, Mark drove around to his wife's house to find her and Dino loading some of Mark's belongings into a truck. Outraged, he then drove to Dino's factory and was spotted wearing gloves and running about suspiciously to avoid detection. A witness phoned Dino to alert him that someone behaving oddly was at the factory.

Some time later, Dino arrived at his factory to investigate. Mark caught him by the jumper and wrestled with him on the ground. Mark was able to struggle free and stood up, picking Dino up in the air and then throwing him down on the ground, where he landed on his head. Blood came out of his mouth. Mark then stood on Dino's chest several times, before loading him into his own truck and driving out to an abandoned industrial site.

He fetched some petrol from his parent's house nearby and returned, shoving Dino head first into a wheelie bin and setting it on fire.

While Dino's corpse burned, Mark drove off to buy a kebab and did a quick drive by on the fire before zooming off to New South Wales. He rang his wife, abusing her for her disloyalty before telling her that he had gotten rid of Dino so that Jana could return to him.  He also reportedly rang police and told them that he would only turn himself in after taking a holiday to Northern Australia (where and Jana had once enjoyed a nice vacation). Police were able to trace his location from his mobile phone, and arrested him in Broken Hill.

Victim's background

Dino's cousin and mother attended Court (source).

Dino was 34 when he was killed.  He reportedly ran his manufacturing business very successfully and was planning to soon retire.

Jana said in her victim impact statement, "The crime ended my physical relationship with Dino, but the emotional relationship continues. I cannot stop loving Dino."

His parents visit his grave every day.

Convicted's background
Mark was almost 41 at the time of the murder.  He met Jana at age 19, his first serious girlfriend, and they were married in their early twenties.   They had four children, who are now aged from 8 to 15.

The judge commented that Mark had lived a "largely blameless and in many respects admirable life" as a husband, father and small business owner.

Mark had former convictions of burglary, criminal damage and theft dating back to 1996 (occurring in the context of recovering a debt), as well as the conviction noted above for false imprisonment and intentionally causing injury to Jana when she asked him to leave in September 2011.

Mark also suffers from hepatitis C.

Outcome of trial: Mark pleaded not guilty to murder, but a jury of his peers found otherwise.  The judge commented on Mark's "vehement attack" pursued in cross-examination against Jana during the trial, suggesting that Mark blamed Jana as the "cause of the evil" in relation to the murder.

Sentence: 16 years before eligible for parole (18 years max), with over a year and a half already served while on remand.

You can read the judgment here.  News articles are available here, here and here.

Mark escorted out of the Court following sentencing (source).

Dromana Woman Died in Post-Coital Attack

A 54 year old woman was beaten to death after sex.

Crime:  Murder

Occurred:  26 April 2011

Where: Unknown address, Dromona

Sentenced:  19 February 2013

Convicted:  Dwaine Anthony Grant

Victim:  Julie Simmonds

What happened?

Despite the 22 year age gap between the couple, Dwaine and Julie had a sexual relationship dating back to Dwaine's early teens.  Over the last year, since Dwaine had moved to Dromona, the two were regular drinking buddies.  On the day of the murder, they drank cask wine and smoked pot together.  Later in the day, they had sex and then something, it is not clear what, made Dwaine snap.  He called Julie a "fuckwit" and a "gutter slut" and proceeded to beat her viciously, beginning in the living room and then moving into the bedroom, choking her to the point of crushing her larynx, ripping chunks of hair right off her scalp and battering her all over, including around her genitals and anus. He held her by the hair while punching her and finished off by repeatedly hitting her over the back of the head with a lump of wood. Julie died of "multiple injuries including neck compression" and was alive for the entire beating.

Victim's background

Julie, aged 54 at the time of her death, was an alcoholic.  She left behind three children and an ex-husband.  In sentencing, the judge commented that Julie's family were left with "a cruel and unjustified feeling that they did not protect her adequately in the vulnerable state which it was plain her alcoholism created".

The Dromana pier (source).

Convicted's background

Dwaine was 22 years old when he murdered Julie.  His father died before he was born and his mother found an undesirable de facto partner.  Dwaine experienced sexual abuse, witnessed ongoing domestic violence, and spent his earlier years in foster homes. Early on, Dwaine began racking up a series of offences in the Children's Court, related to dishonesty and motor vehicle offences.  He moved to Melbourne as a young adult and obtained a series of partial trade qualifications before he was sacked for his alcoholism.  In 2010 he moved back to Dromana where he spent his days drinking and lived on welfare.  As well as alcohol, Dwaine was a cannabis and (alleged) amphetamine user.

Dwaine also held a number of convictions in the Magistrates Court, none of them related to violence.

Dwaine and Julie drank cask wine on the day of the murder (source).

Outcome of trial:  Dwaine pleaded guilty so there was no need for a trial.

Sentence:  16 years before eligible for parole, 20 years maximum.

You can access the judgment here.  Media articles are available here and here.

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.