Zachary Dowling pleads guilty to murdering partner Brian O’Sullivan at Mayfield unit

In a sickening case of domestic violence a Newcastle man has admitted to killing his “on and off again” partner during what has been described as a night of “dominatrix kinky sex”.

Detectives outside the Mayfield unit on Regent St following the murder of Brian O’Sullivan on June 29, 2021. Picture: David Swift

In a sickening case of domestic violence a man has admitted to killing his “on and off again” gay partner during what has been described as a night of “dominatrix kinky sex”.

Zachary Joel Dowling, 35, was charged with murdering his 63-year-old partner Brian O’Sullivan on June 29, 2021, at his Mayfield share home, leaving his body to rot for four days.

Police facts tendered to Newcastle Local Court said the pair, who had been seeing each other since 2004, had gone to Dowling’s home the night of the killing and several residents had told police of the “loud sex” they thought they were having after hearing grunting and moaning sounds coming from the unit.

Forensics at scene of murder at Mayfield unit. Picture: David Swift

“I heard someone say stop it and then bang I heard someone say give it to me harder and then I would hear a forceful thump like a loud bang,” one resident told police.

“Sounded like someone having loud rough sex,” another resident said according to court documents.

Police facts detailed those noises would continue for about an hour and a half before it suddenly went quiet, and Dowling was captured on CCTV leaving the premises.

It was between 5.33pm and 7.07pm that night police forensics determined Mr O’Sullivan was murdered, detailing that he was initially assaulted by Dowling and hit in the face and injured in such a way “the victim’s blood and hair were found on the walls of the bedroom”.

The murder carried out by Dowling when he used, “force to push the lower dentures down his throat” and the victim died “as result asphyxiation most likely choking on dentures”.

Police facts said Dowling didn’t return for two days and then left before again returning on July 3.

It was that day that residents started to notice a bad smell like “faeces of baby nappies” coming from the unit.

Police facts said Dowling told a friend what had happened saying “Brian is dead, the body stinks and I don’;t want to be around it”.

Officers at the scene after Brian O’Sullivan was killed. Zachary Dowling has pleaded guilty to his murder. Picture: David Swift

Finally he agreed for his friend to call police before officers made the gruesome discovery at the Mayfield unit and he was soon arrested at Club Macquarie in Argenton shortly after.

Following his arrest phone calls from jail recorded Dowling bragging about killing his partner saying “I didn’t want to deal with it”.

“That’s what happens when the falsies fall down their throat,” he laughed in recorded calls.

“Too rough and bondage too bad. Yeah I’ll just say it head jobs for a bit, stopped, then boom strangled him that’s it.”

“It was fellatio, a fellatio act went wrong.”

In Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, Dowling appeared via video link from Goulburn jail where he pleaded guilty to murder and a charge of manslaughter was dropped.

He’ll head to the Supreme Court in Sydney next month for a sentence date to be set.

Judge Ian Cheetham also revoked an interim non-publication order, allowing the details of the murder to be revealed.