Cranbourne Drug Dealer Dies by Shovel and Nylon Strap

A 48 year old man was fatally beaten and strangled in his home.

Crime: Manslaughter

Occurred:  Saturday, 20 August 2011

Where: 15 Golden Wattle Court, Cranbourne

Sentenced:  27 March 2013

Convicted:  Glenn Hollow

Victim:  Laurence Grey

What happened?
In mid-August 2011, Glenn drove down from Sydney to visit his sister in St Kilda.  He met up with a friend, Anthony Lucas, and the two men spent a few days living in their cars, tight for cash.  On Saturday, Glenn texted several people, asking for $50.  Later that day, both men drove down to Laurence's house in Cranbourne.  Laurence shared some heroin with Anthony and then showed his guests a couple of cars that he was restoring.

At some point during the visit, Laurence was struck over the head with a post-hole shovel and strangled with a black nylon strap.  Both Glenn and Anthony participated in the attack.  They stole cash and cannabis and fled back to Melbourne.

Laurence's body was discovered two days later on his patio.

Laurence's house at 15 Golden Wattle Court, Cranbourne (source).

Victim's background
Laurence was 48 years old at the time of his death.  He was described by police as a low level drug dealer, selling approximately half a pound of cannabis a week for the last 10 years.  Laurence's best friend told the media that Laurence was very excited about a new job he was going to apply for: "He was cleaning himself up, he was getting himself together, and then this happened".  After his body was discovered, police publicly appealed to his former drug customers, who may have visited the premises around the time of Laurence's death, to come forward and share any relevant information with authorities.

Laurence left behind his 80 year old mother, a sister, and a brother, who he had not spoken to for two years. Laurence lived alone with two dogs.

Laurence Grey (source).

Convicted's background
Glenn was approximately 34 years old at the time of the killing.  Born and raised in Ararat, he was the middle child of three.  He was sexually abused as a child.  His older brother died in a car accident at age 27. He left school in Year 10 and joined the army aged 15, participating in tours to Somalia, Cambodia and Bougainville.

At age 18, after he was dishonorably discharged for assaulting an officer, Glenn moved back to Ararat to live with his parents and work at his mum's cafe. Not long after, he was arrested for car theft and possession of a firearm, which is likely to have been related to an incident where he stole his mother's car and threatened to commit suicide.

He became a truckie and at age 22 moved out of home to live with his girlfriend, and later wife, Kelly Martin, and they later had three kids, today aged 15, 12 and 10.

At 23, Glenn received a suspended sentence and a community service order for stealing $140,000 from his employers.  After serving out the order, he moved his family to Queensland and worked as an estimator. After being overlooked for a promotion he stole $100,000 from his boss.  He was charged and released on bail but fled to Melbourne with his family, where he returned to truck driving and amphetamine use.  After a truck roll incident in 2006, he required a spinal fusion and suffered ongoing back pain.

At 31, Glenn's marriage was failing.  Around this time he entered his wife's caravan with an offensive weapon and was sentenced to 14 months in prison (5 months before eligible for parole).  After serving 6 months, he was released and extradited to Brisbane where he was sentenced to 4 years and 6 months imprisonment. He was released in August 2010 after serving 2 years, and then violated his parole conditions in order to relocate to Victoria.

Glenn also has a history of abusing painkillers and amphetamines and also has been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

Glenn was a truck driver (source).

Outcome of trial: Glenn initially pleaded not guilty but during the trial changed his mind.  The trial was discontinued.  The judge estimated that this saved two weeks of the Court's time.

Sentence: 7 years and 3 months before eligible for parole (10 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.

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.