Security guard Cameron Turgay Bardak guilty of attempted murder

An axe-wielding man who attacked his ex-girlfriend during a terrifying ambush in a Brisbane CBD car park has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Cameron Turgay Bardak. Picture: Supplied

Government House security officer Cameron Turgay Bardak has been found guilty of attempting to murder his ex-girlfriend in a terrifying axe attack in a Brisbane City carpark.

Bardak ambushed lawyer Maria Buci after she finished work on July 1, 2020, repeatedly striking her with a hatchet before going on to strangle her after a good Samaritan disarmed him of the weapon.

Upon hearing the verdict, Ms Buci – who had to be assisted into the courtroom due to her emotional state – gasped and sobbed.

During a seven-day trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court, the 32-year-old claimed he never meant to kill or hurt anyone and that he had merely taken the axe with him to talk to Ms Buci so he could “badger her” into taking him back.

But the jury of seven men and five women rejected his story, finding him guilty of attempted murder after six-and-a-half hours of deliberation on Wednesday and Thursday.

Maria Buci speaks to the media outside Brisbane Supreme Court. Photo: Steve Pohlner

At the start of his trial, Bardak pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Ms Buci and to unlawfully wounding David Sturgess, one of the men who came to her rescue.

But he denied he had attempted to kill Ms Buci or that he intended to cause grievous injuries. He pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and to an alternate charge of acts intended to cause grievous bodily harm.

Crown Prosecutor Chris Cook told the jury that Bardak had formed an “unwavering intent to kill” Ms Buci after they broke up, and that he was determined that “if he couldn’t have her, no one could”.

Ms Buci, 30, bravely gave evidence against her attacker, spending almost an entire day on the witness stand recalling the terrifying moment she saw Bardak waiting near her car.

“And then he said ‘I’m going to kill you’ and then that’s when I saw the axe and I started screaming,” she said.

Bardak’s defence barrister put to her that he never made that comment but Ms Buci was adamant in her testimony, saying the words still haunted her.

“He definitely said ‘I’m going to kill you’, that’s something that I will never ever ever forget, ever in my life, I have to live with that every day”.

David Sturgess leaves court after giving evidence in the trial of Cameron Bardak. Picture: Liam Kidston

Outside court today, she thanked the police, Director of Public Prosecutions Office, and the good Samaritans who intervened on the night.

“They are the reason I am alive today,” she said.

Ms Buci said she hoped for “a fair sentence” for Bardak.

“I’m very happy to say that the justice system has prevailed today … it has been a very good outcome,” she said.

“It is a long path to healing, but I will get there.”

Bardak’s sentencing hearing before Justice Glenn Martin is set for Friday afternoon.

The Bardak verdict and impending sentence come during Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month.

A candlelight vigil for the victims of domestic and family violence was held on Wednesday night at Brisbane’s South Bank Piazza.

“It is difficult (recognising the signs of domestic violence), it’s just seeing the red flags in relationships and trusting your gut,” Ms Buci said.