Madona Kobayssi pleaded guilty to contravening AVO in stoush with unit complex manager

A former lawyer emailed the manager of a North Bondi unit complex telling him he would be “slashed into a million pieces” over a money dispute. When in court, she blurted out she would “would run him over”.

Madona Kobayssi outside Sutherland Local Court”. Picture: Ashleigh Tullis

A former lawyer laughed through her court proceedings for breaching an apprehended violence order before she vowed, “if I had a car I would run (the protected person) over”.

Madona Kobayssi, 38, pleaded guilty to breaching an apprehended violence order in Sutherland Local Court on Thursday following her arrest the previous night.

According to a statement of agreed facts presented to the court, there was a personal apprehended violence order in place to protect the manager of a residential unit complex in North Bondi where Kobayssi previously lived.

The pair were involved in a tenancy dispute in March 2022 and Kobayssi – who previously worked in the United Arab Emirates as a technology transactions lawyer – confronted the man in July prompting the order, court documents reveal.

On Tuesday, the man received an email from Kobayssi, who now lives in Bexley, titled “return my money or else I’ll cut you in half”.

Kobayssi will be sentenced in July at Sutherland Local Court.

The email said she wanted money for her “absolutely abhorrent stay” at the unit, where she claims she suffered harassment and trespassing.

“I’m not joking – if you don’t return my money by end of week, I’ll have you stashed in the back of a police car like the junk yard that you are and slashed into a million pieces. Attached are my bank details under the name Madona Kobayssi.”

The man went to police later that day telling officers he felt threatened and fearful because Kobayssi knew where he worked and how to access the apartment complex.

Kobayssi told police it was her email address but she had not used it in a while and claimed it had been hacked by the man, adding she had not received her requested money.

In the presence of police, Kobayssi made further threats to take action against the man, telling them she would show what a “real” breach of an apprehended violence order looked like.

The court heard Kobayssi had a “large fall from grace” after she started practising as a commercial lawyer in 2010 on graduating from the University of NSW.

“She enjoyed a good reputation as a solicitor in a commercial context however there was a decline in her physical and mental health,” Kobayssi’s lawyer Nicholas Breen said.

He said Kobayssi had a “poor experience” while she was a lawyer, had been “harassed in her workplace” and stopped working in the industry in 2020.

Mr Breen said Kobayssi suffered from a chronic pain syndrome called fibromyalgia and was unemployed and on disability insurance.

He said Kobayssi had previously been diagnosed with PTSD and depression but those conditions was no longer an issue.

He conceded Kobayssi was not remorseful, which caused her to start laughing.

Mr Breen said Kobayssi had a short criminal record and there was an “ongoing dispute” with the victim.

“This is no doubt an embarrassing day for her given her background,” he said.

When a police prosecutor noted investigators believed Kobayssi “will not stop until she gets retribution,” she shouted from a cell, “yep that’s correct. I am the victim and he is the perpetrator. If I could drive, I would run him over”.

Magistrate Hugh Donnelly was going to sentence Kobayssi but, given her demeanour in court, he wanted more information on her mental state, adjourning the case to July 20.

Mr Breen made a bail application on his client’s behalf.

Magistrate Hugh Donnelly noted Kobayssi had not complied with previous court orders and there were warrants for her arrest, however he said she was unlikely to receive a full time jail sentence and granted bail where she must live with her family at Bexley, report to police once a week and not contact or approach the victim.