Concreter Tony Halloun sentenced to 24 years’ jail for Shahnaz Qidwai murder: Killing condemns family to deep grief

THE despair was etched starkly on Khalid Qidwai’s face yesterday as a judge condemned his wife’s cold-hearted killer to rot in jail for a minimum of 17 years.

Tony Halloun Sentence

THE despair was etched starkly on Khalid Qidwai’s face yesterday as a judge condemned his wife’s cold-hearted killer to rot in jail for a minimum of 17 years.

With his daughters by his side, the prominent Pakistan-born doctor grimaced in pain, in the terrible knowledge no sentence could ever bring his ­beloved Shahnaz back.

His mind must have flashed back to the afternoon of June 15, 2012, when he arrived home to find police swarming over his family’s luxury mansion in up-market Henley.

Dr Khalid Qidwai with his children after the sentencing of Tony Halloun convicted of murdering his wife Shahnaz Qidwai. Picture Ross Schultz

Inside, in one of the bedrooms, his wife lay dead on the floor.

A paramedic had seen a footprint next to her bludgeoned body and immediately became suspicious. This was a homicide, he said to his colleagues.

The order was given that Mr Qidwai and his son, despite their tearful pleadings from the driveway, be restrained from entering their home. This was a crime scene.

The Qidwai family had no known enemies. They were immensely respected in Sydney’s tight-knit Pakistani community.

A supporter of Tony Halloun was stretched out of court after collapsing. Picture: Ross Schultz

From their castle-style home, the pair travelled six times a week to a tiny brick surgery in Croydon where he and his wife, also a doctor, treated their patients with their renowned compassion — including a tradesman named Tony Halloun and his extended family.

Ill and unwilling to infect her patients, Mrs Qidwai stayed home that day — only to unwittingly stumble upon a robbery.

Instead of doing his contracted work, concreting the driveway, Halloun was inside the house searching for money to help him pay off a $97,000 debt.

Dr Khalid Qidwai said he “craves” to see his wife again. Picture: Ross Schultz

With his crime compromised, the father of three lashed out, killing Shahnaz and stealing $4000 in cash and some jewels.

He then concocted a series of lies to cover his tracks.

First he said he never set foot in the house. Then he admitted entering the house, but only to make a cup of tea.

He claimed Shahnaz had given him a friendly tap on the shoulder, which he said explained why his DNA was found on her body.

Awaiting trial, the story changed again. Apparently, he stumbled across three masked gunmen in the house who then threatened him and his family if he told police.

A jury did not buy it.

He will spend most of his life in jail.

NOTHING CAN DULL FAMILY’S PAIN

Lema Samandar

A WESTERN Sydney tradie who “concocted a bizarre tale” to escape jail has been sentenced to at least 17 years in prison for the vicious murder of grandmother Shahnaz Qidwai in her mansion.

The Qidwai family sobbed and hugged as Justice Lucy McCallum sentenced Tony Halloun to a maximum of 24 years in jail at the NSW Supreme Court yesterday.

An ambulance was called after a young female member of the Halloun family fainted in court during sentencing.

Justice McCallum said the 35-year-old concreter had an “acute” need for cash on June 15, 2012 — the day of the murder. His concreting company had gone into liquidation and he had noticed the family of doctors kept cash at their Henley home, known as “Burnham Castle”.

He was contracted to renovate their driveway at the time.

Justice McCallum said Halloun went into the house that morning and was caught going through the envelopes of cash by Mrs Qidwai.

“What probably occurred is Mrs Qidwai saw him doing something wrong and he attacked her out of panic,” she said.

“He killed her in pursuit of financial gain. He has told many lies to escape responsibility for his offending.”

Halloun, a father of three, was $97,000 in debt.

He told police three different versions of what happened and then changed his story during his trial.

“Confronted with a strong circumstantial case, including the telling trial of his own DNA, he concocted a bizarre tale of having been forced by three masked gunmen to grab Mrs Qidwai as she tried to escape from them,” Justice McCallum said.

“An enormous amount of police time was wasted investigating that concoction.”

The murdered woman’s husband Dr Khalid Qidwai — who was the Halloun family GP for 30 years — shook and sobbed as he read a statement outside court.

“Regardless of the sentence duration, no amount of time will ever come close to equating the value of Shahnaz,” Dr Qidwai said.

“No matter how many years pass, June 15 will always remain a sad day for us and a reminder of the brutality and the inhumanity that still exists in this world.’’

Halloun will be eligible for parole in 2029, when he is 50 years old.

He has already indicated that he intends to appeal against his conviction.