Lily Pereg’s husband wins estate battle after her brutal murder in Argentina

John Finlay’s wife was brutally murdered by her nephew in Argentina three years ago. He then had to face another ordeal in court.

A NSW man whose wife was brutally murdered by her nephew in Argentina is set to receive $780,000 from her estate after a court battle with some of her relatives.

Gil Pereg – who was labelled “cat man” after he repeatedly meowed to prosecutors during his trial – was sentenced to life imprisonment after the bodies of his mother, Pyrhia Sarusi, and her sister, Lily Pereg, were found on his Mendoza property in 2019.

The sisters had been travelling in Argentina when Ms Sarusi was strangled and Ms Pereg was shot.

Lily Pereg and John Finlay lived on the outskirts of Armidale in country NSW before she was murdered while travelling in Argentina.

Mr Finlay had given up his own work to support Ms Pereg, who was a successful academic.

Ms Pereg, 54, a successful microbiologist at the University of New England, lived on the outskirts of Armidale in country NSW with her de facto husband of 10 years, John Finlay, 68.

The NSW Supreme Court recently heard Ms Pereg’s will stipulated that, after paying out Mr Finlay’s mortgage for a unit where he now lives in northern NSW, the remainder of her estate was to be divided equally between him and her other family members.

Lawyers for Mr Finlay argued the amount initially allocated to him in the will was not enough for his “proper maintenance”.

The court was told Mr Finlay and two of Ms Pereg’s other surviving siblings agreed in 2020 that he would receive a lump sum of $780,000 instead of his one quarter share of the estate.

But Mr Finlay’s claim was opposed on multiple grounds by some of Ms Sarusi’s children, who are based in Israel.

Gilad Pereg on trial for the murder of his mother and aunt.

Lily Pereg and her sister Pyrhia Sarusi before their deaths.

One argument they submitted in court was that Mr Finlay could and should return to paid employment given he was working before Ms Pereg’s death as their homemaker in Armidale.

But the court was told Mr Finlay is in his late 60s and had not been in paid work for many years because he had given up his employment as a manager for a seed supplier to support Ms Pereg.

Justice Francois Kunc SC ultimately sided with Mr Finlay and ruled that adequate provision for his advancement in life was not made in the will.

“His expenses are ordinary, day to day living expenses that might be incurred by a retired, single man living a modestly comfortable lifestyle – there is nothing in John’s expenditure that might be described as extravagant or unusual,” Justice Kunc said.

The court determined Mr Finlay is entitled to receive a lump sum residuary bequest of $780,000, inclusive of his costs of the legal proceedings.

Initially under the will he would have received about $400,000 after the discharge of his mortgage, the court heard.

“Lily and John clearly enjoyed a close and loving relationship for ten years, with no suggestion that it would not have continued that way until the natural death of one of them, but for the tragic circumstances of Lily’s untimely death,” Justice Kunc said.

“By mutual agreement, John gave up remunerative employment to become Lily’s full-time homemaker, companion and support person to enable her to conduct a very successful international academic career.”