Dylan Kovarskis captured on security footage stabbing Nathan Russell to death, court told
A meth-affected man received a message threatening his mum and decided to take action, a court has heard. The aftermath was a beloved father dead, his stabbing caught on camera.
Police & Courts
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A beloved father was murdered by a man clad in a balaclava and Finks motorcycle gang supporter clothing, intent on causing him grievous harm, a court has heard.
Dylan John Kovarskis, 26, pleaded guilty to the “vicious” murder of 46-year-old Nathan Russell at a property in Sturt St in January 2021.
On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Anne Bampton heard that security cameras around and inside the home captured the majority of the attack on video.
The footage showed Kovarskis arrive at the house after getting a lift to the city from an associate before donning a balaclava and arming himself with a wooden pole.
He was wearing supporter clothing branded with Finks Motorcycle Club symbols.
He was filmed discarding the pole and instead arming himself with a knife before breaking through the front door of the property.
Mr Russell was stabbed twice in quick succession and died from his injuries.
Nick Vadasz, for Kovarskis, said his client had been contacted hours before the attack by an unknown person who had threatened his mother.
Kovarskis formed the opinion that the message originated from the Sturt St address where Mr Russell and others lived.
The court heard the house was linked to the methamphetamine trade and Mr Russell had methamphetamine in his blood when he died.
Mr Russell’s sister Belinda read a victim impact statement to the court, directing her words directly to Kovarskis who sat in the dock with his head down.
“Your choice was to murder Nathan, you went to his home and attacked him,” she said.
“This was your choice and anticipated outcome, you chose murder.”
Ms Russell said she felt Kovarskis’ family were grieving the loss of a son who will likely spend the coming decades behind bars.
“I am sure your family washoping you would make better choices,” she said.
“They must be suffering so much, their lives will never be the same again.
“Now is the time to stop being selfish, think about your loved ones and what they were going through.”
A relative of Kovarskis sat in the front row of the court and sobbed as Ms Russell read her statement.
Mr Vadasz asked Justice Bampton to impose a sentence less than the mandatory 20 years non-parole period.
He said Mr Kovaskis had never denied stabbing Mr Russell, but had contested that he did not intend to kill him or cause “grievous harm” which accompanies finding a murder.
Carmen Matteo SC, prosecuting, said that while she accepted a psychologist’s opinion that Kovarskis had a borderline intellectual disability, it was not significant enough to reduce his moral culpability of the crime.
“The tragedy before the courts involved individuals who suffer drug addiction and have low cognitive functioning, particularly in offences like murder,” Justice Bampton said.
Kovarskis pleaded guilty to murder in March last year.
He will be sentenced later this year.
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