Police officer who blames herself for Sabrina Lekaj murder loses bid for additional compensation on appeal

A police officer who suffered a psychiatric injury, after being one of the last people to see murder victim Sabrina Lekaj alive, has lost a bid for extra compensation.

A police officer who blames herself for the brutal murder of a young woman at the hands of her father has lost a bid for additional compensation for her mental injury.

The officer, who had worked almost 20 years on the force, suffered a psychiatric injury after being told Sabrina Lekaj was murdered soon after leaving the Queen Elizabeth Hospital where she was being tested for alcohol and drugs following a minor crash.

The officer was unable to return to work for more than a year, but has since returned to an administration role which pays less than her previous operational position.

She had won a claim in the South Australian Employment Tribunal for “additional compensation” due to the pay difference between the two roles, but the decision has been set aside after an appeal by the Attorney-General’s Department.

In a ruling published last week, the tribunal notes the fact the officer suffered a psychiatric injury was not in dispute – she had previously been awarded compensation for the injury.

The officer had been investigating a car crash on July 21, 2019, where the driver was suspected of being under the influence.

Petrit Lekaj. Picture: SA Police

Sabrina Lekaj. Picture: Supplied

The investigations led her to the home Sabrina shared with her family.

The officer attended, spoke to Sabrina and her parents, Petrit and Romina, and took her to the QEH for a blood test.

The officer waited with Sabrina for about four hours, before calling her parents who came to the hospital to collect her.

In the early hours of July 22, 2019, Sabrina was stabbed to death by her father Petrit Lekaj while sitting in a car outside their home.

A colleague informed the officer the following day that Sabrina had been “brutally murdered”.

The officer was then said to have “lost it” and was “unable to stop crying”.

She said she “felt distressed and responsible for the victim’s murder”.

The white Mercedes where Petrit Lekaj stabbed his daughter Sabrina in Kidman Park. Picture 7NEWS

Petrit Lekaj later pleaded guilty and was jailed for life with a non-parole period of 20 years for the murder.

In majority finding, the tribunal dismissed the officers claim for additional compensation.

Deputy president Judge Mark Calligeros and Auxiliary Judge Peter Hannon found there was “an insufficient degree of proximity” between the officer and murder for compensation to be awarded.

They said the injury did not occur “as a direct and immediate result of conduct that is or appears to be a criminal offence” as required for additional compensation to be awarded.

Judge Calligeros said the officer’s work was “not related to the murder in an operational sense”, while Auxiliary Judge Hannon said the officer’s injury occurred as “an indirect result of the criminal conduct” but was not sufficiently proximate to be a direct and immediate result.