Paul Jason Sultana loses bid for judge only trial for murder charge

A man who has been charged with the murder of a western Sydney woman has made a bid for a judge alone trial as he maintains his innocence. Here’s the latest from court.

Paul Jason Sultana (right) will stand trial over the 2023 alleged murder of Dayna Isaac.

A man’s bid to have a judge alone trial instead of a jury over the alleged murder of a western Sydney mother two years ago has failed.

Paul Jason Sultana, 34, appeared before a Supreme Court on Tuesday where he was listed for a hearing.

Sultana maintains a plea of not guilty after being charged in January 2023 over the horrific alleged murder of mother-of-two Dayna Issac.

Ms Isaac was only 28 when her lifeless body was found on her bed with significant injuries to her face and a cord wrapped around her neck in her apartment in Penrith on January 18 2023.

In court on Tuesday, Sultana’s lawyers made a bid to have a judge alone trial.

Dayna Isaac, 28, who was found dead inside her Penrith apartment in 2023.

The apartment in Penrith where the crime scene was in 2023.

Sultana’s lawyer said this would be in the interest of justice and concerns over previous media coverage of the incident risked jury prejudice.

“The nature of the publicity surrounding the event and similar events causes such a prejudice in the community that there’s a real risk that twelve jurors selected in his case may well bring to their task an inappropriately affected mode of thinking about him,” his lawyer said.

Paul Jason Sultana (right) has been charged over the murder of Dayna Issac in 2023.

“There’s no dispute that the lady was murdered horribly.

“The dispute is that my client says it wasn’t he who committed that act, and he is concerned that the media reports reflect a real possibility that he may get an unfair trial.”

Along with the previous media coverage, Sultana’s lawyer also pointed out individual campaigns in the community “by women of a feminist perspective on the universe” and politicians speaking on femicides may also paint Sultana in a bad light.

“My client’s position is that it wasn’t him who did it,” his lawyer said.

Paul Jason Sultana maintains a plea of not guilty to the murder charge.

“And he doesn’t want to have the effect upon the hearing of his case.”

However, Justice Belinda Rigg denied the request stating as the last detailed report on the case was over two years ago, she doesn’t believe that “a juror would remember this two and a half years later”.

“There is nothing about the facts of this case, nor the content of the January 2023 reporting which gives rise to any particular concern about juror misconduct,” she said.

Sultana will return to court for a two-day hearing on July 8 before his trial in Parramatta on July 14.