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Supreme Court 19 December 2024

R v Zafar

[2024] NSWSC 1639

Assault & violenceHomicideDomestic & family violence

Citation: R v Zafar [2024] NSWSC 1639
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 19 December 2024
Judge: Sweeney J

Background

The offender, a young man aged 20 at the time of his marriage, pleaded guilty to murdering his wife, a 19-year-old medical science student, in their North Parramatta apartment in January 2022. The couple had married in a private Islamic ceremony in October 2021, without the knowledge or support of either family. Their relationship had been marked by repeated violence, with the victim making complaints to friends on multiple occasions before her death.

The agreed facts detailed a sustained pattern of controlling and violent behaviour by the offender throughout the relationship, including choking the victim to the point of unconsciousness on at least one occasion in May 2021. Text messages recovered from the offender's phone showed the victim expressing fear, asking for a divorce, and stating she intended to report the violence to police.

The killing occurred on the evening of 29 January 2022. After murdering his wife, the offender drove around with a friend that night before returning to the unit and, over the following day, purchasing five 20-litre tubs of hydrochloric acid from Bunnings to place the victim's body in the bathtub in an attempt to destroy her remains. Police ultimately located her body in the unit on 31 January 2022.

  • What is the appropriate sentence for the murder, having regard to the standard non-parole period of 20 years, the objective seriousness of the offence, and the applicable aggravating and mitigating factors?
  • What weight should be given to the offender's guilty plea, his age, his prospects of rehabilitation, and his remorse?
  • How should the sentence relate to a prior sentence the offender was already serving for intimidating the victim's father?
  • Whether the offence should be recorded as a domestic violence offence under the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW).

Decision

Sweeney J found the offence to be of considerable objective seriousness. The victim was a vulnerable young woman killed within the domestic setting by a husband who had subjected her to repeated violence and control over the course of their relationship. The offender's subsequent conduct, including purchasing large quantities of hydrochloric acid to destroy her body and conducting internet searches about its effect on human remains, significantly aggravated the overall criminality.

The Crown did not press for a life sentence. Her Honour accepted the offender's remorse as genuine, notwithstanding the difficulty of fully distinguishing genuine remorse from regret. The guilty plea was entered shortly before trial, and the parties agreed a 10 percent discount was appropriate.

Given the offender's youth (he was 20 at the time of the marriage and still young at the time of offending), his limited prior criminal record, his prior employment, and his acceptance of the need for rehabilitation, her Honour found he had positive prospects for rehabilitation. However, the prior conviction for intimidating the victim's father, for which he had received a five-month sentence, required careful treatment. Her Honour partially accumulated the murder sentence on the earlier sentence, commencing the murder sentence two months after the offender entered custody rather than from the date he was taken into custody on 31 January 2022.

Her Honour applied the principle from Munda v Western Australia (2013) 249 CLR 600, affirming that sentencing in domestic violence murder cases must vindicate the dignity of the victim and express the community's disapproval of the crime.

Orders Made

  • Total sentence of 21 years 6 months imprisonment, comprising a non-parole period of 16 years and a balance of term of 5 years 6 months, commencing 31 March 2022.
  • Non-parole period to expire on 30 March 2038.
  • The offence is to be recorded on the offender's criminal record as a domestic violence offence pursuant to s 12(2) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW).
  • The offender's legal representatives directed to advise him of the Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW) and its application to this offence, pursuant to s 25C of that Act.

Key Takeaways

  • The Supreme Court imposed a total sentence of 21 years 6 months for the murder of a domestic partner, with a non-parole period of 16 years, reflecting the considerable objective seriousness of the offence and the history of violence and control that preceded it.
  • Post-offence conduct, including prolonged attempts to destroy the victim's body using industrial quantities of hydrochloric acid, was treated as a significant aggravating feature of the overall criminality.
  • A 10 percent discount on sentence applied where the guilty plea was entered shortly before trial, consistent with the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW).
  • Where an offender was already serving a separate sentence for an offence against a member of the victim's family, partial accumulation rather than full concurrency or full consecutiveness was considered the appropriate approach on these facts.
  • Applying Munda v Western Australia, sentencing for domestic violence homicide must give weight to vindicating the victim's dignity and reflecting the community's condemnation of such offending.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW)
- Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 (NSW), s 12(2)
- Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW), s 25C

Cases
- Munda v Western Australia (2013) 249 CLR 600; [2013] HCA 38