Jury retires to consider daughter’s murder charge

A jury has retired to consider the fate of a teaching student accused of bludgeoning her mother to death with a piece of artificial decking at The Gap in Brisbane’s west in 2016.

Simona Zafirovska is accused of murdering her mother Radica Zafirovska.

A JURY has retired to consider the fate of a teaching student accused of bludgeoning her mother to death with a piece of artificial decking at The Gap in Brisbane’s west in 2016.

Simona Zafirovska, 23, has been on trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court for the past three weeks for the murder of her mother Radica Zafirovska.

She has pleaded not guilty.

The Crown alleges Zafirovska beat the 56-year-old to death as she lay in bed at their home in The Gap on October 28, 2016.

The woman suffered 26 injuries that led to her death, the court has heard.

Zafirovska told police at the time of the killing, intruders had broken into the home and presumably killed her mother with the piece of floorboard the woman kept behind her bed for protection.

Victim Radica Zafirovska

About 7am on the day, Zafirovska phoned triple-0 and told the operator she was scared and hiding in her bedroom, hearing footsteps on the wooden floor of the home.

When police arrived at the property they found Radica Zafirovska in her bed with such serious head injuries her brain was exposed, the court heard.

A loungeroom of the property also showed signs of being disturbed, the jury was told.

Crown prosecutor David Meredith has told the jury Zafirovska had in fact killed her mother and claimed there had been a break-in.

He said the triple-0 was a contrivance because “the truth would reveal (Zafirovska) had killed her mother”.

The piece of decking alleged to be the murder weapon was later found in Zafirovska’s room by police, the court has been told.

It had blood on it that matched the deceased woman’s DNA.

No one was seen leaving or arriving at the house on the morning of October 28, 2016, the jury was told.

The jury also heard neighbours did not see or hear anything at the time of the alleged home invasion.

The court heard evidence the family had two dogs that were vicious and often barked, but no neighbours heard barking on the day of the woman’s slaying.

The jury also heard there was no evidence of forced entry to the home on the day of the alleged home invasion, but several doors at the property were open.

Zafirovska had been speaking to her boyfriend in Macedonia on the phone about 3.40am on the day of the killing, the court heard.

The court heard Zafirovska’s mother had previously seen her daughter video-calling her boyfriend and did not support the relationship because the man was much older than her.

The Crown alleges the motive for the killing was the fact Zafirovska wanted to stay in Macedonia with her boyfriend, after spending university holidays overseas, but her mother told her she would not financially support her through her studies if she did not return to Queensland.

The Crown also alleges Zafirovska stood to inherit money following her mother’s death, which would allow her to travel overseas for an extended period.

The court has previously heard Zafirovska lied about when university holidays finished so she could stay in Macedonia longer.

Zafirovska also obtained quotes for flights overseas prior to her mother’s slaying, the jury has heard.

The court heard throughout the trial the mother and daughter loved each other “a lot” and Zafirovska often called her mother “the best mother in the world”.

The defence argued Zafirovska could not have committed the killing because there was no evidence of blood on her clothing, and there was a possibility the people who entered the home had a key.

They put to the jury the death was a vengeance killing that could only be explained by reasons known to the deceased the 56-year-old.

They argued the intruders could have been known to Radica Zafirovska and had links to Macedonia.