Angelo Ziotas: Man burns down Essenza Restaurant, fools all
Court documents reveal the incredible details of a restaurant manager’s bungled plot to burn down his own venue. The 38-year-old’s calamitous actions included him stabbing himself and killing his partner’s dog.
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Police documents reveal the elaborate steps an indebted Surry Hills restaurant manager – who stabbed himself in the back and set his own venue and home on fire, killing his partner’s dog – took to frame himself as the victim in a brutal attempted homicide and arson attack.
On July 4, 2019, Angelo Ziotas, 38, woke up about 7am as usual and sat in his courtyard drinking coffee and enjoying a cigarette.
He and his de facto partner Kate Still, owner of Essenza Italian Restaurant, which he managed, lived together in an apartment directly above the restaurant, according to police facts.
Ms Still left for work about 8am. Soon after CCTV shows Ziotas pretending to be a masked intruder, walking through the restaurant courtyard wearing dark clothes and a beanie pulled over his face, with eye holes cut into it.
There is no suggestion that Ms Still had any knowledge of her partner’s elaborate plan, and in court last week she described the “shock” and “betrayal” of discovering the truth.
At 9.08am, Ziotas disabled the internal CCTV system of the restaurant before placing over 50 small tea candles around the restaurant and apartment, and lighting them, court facts read.
He wore plastic gloves, which he later discarded in a hole made under the floorboard.
Ziotas also used paper to set alight the clothing he was wearing – which included shoes he had spray-painted grey – which he placed on the internal staircase leading up to the apartment, the police facts state.
This fire eventually spread to accelerant chemicals stored in the cupboard under the stairs, causing a huge blaze.
Once the fire was lit, Ziotas used a kitchen knife to stab himself twice in the lower back and abdomen, causing two lacerations of 4cm and 6cm, and severing a small artery.
About 11am, he called Triple-0 to report the fire, he then yelled for help and two men helped him escape through the bathroom window.
Firefighters found Ms Still’s beloved six-year-old Kelpie ‘Lexie Lou’ unresponsive in the first-floor apartment.
The dog likely died of smoke inhalation.
When police asked Ziotas what happened, he said: “A man broke into the restaurant and stabbed me. I woke up and there was a fire”.
Ziotas gave the same false narrative to police on four occasions, according to police facts.
The next day, on July 5, Ziotas told police “a former employee of the restaurant may have been involved in the attack due to past conflict leading to the firing of that employee”, according to police facts. He then became a suspect.
On July 26, Ziotas was arrested after DNA was found inside gloves at the scene, a court previously heard.
He would not speak to police about his involvement in the fire but made admissions to Ms Still on the phone “to lighting the fire, fabricating evidence, stabbing himself with a knife and being aware that the dog was inside the apartment when the fire started”.
He also apologised and told her “he thought he was going to be able to get the dog out”.
Police allege that Ziotas’ motivation was financial gain, despite Ms Still being the insurance policy holder and the beneficiary of any insurance payouts.
Police facts state that Ziotas had a large debt and a gambling problem, discussed with Ms Still a superannuation payout he had hoped to receive, and admitted to her that he would use money from the business to gamble.
Ziotas pleaded guilty to dishonestly damage property by fire for financial gain, intending to pervert the course of justice and a related charge of recklessly killing animals.
Ziotas will be sentenced next month.