Nicole Cartwright: Sydney man charged over 2018 death
A divorced father-of-two, who police say met Nicole Cartwright online before her decomposing body was found wrapped in a sheet at Hunters Hill, has been charged with her murder.
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A woman whose remains were dumped beside a playground in Sydney’s lower north shore in 2018 was killed by a father-of-two she met online, police will allege in court.
Homicide detectives arrested Dennis Pietrobon, 51, at Parramatta Police Station on Wednesday and charged him with killing Lansvale woman Nicole Cartwright on her 32nd birthday.
Ms Cartwright’s body was found by a council worker who arrived at Buffalo Creek Reserve at Hunters Hill early on October 3, 2018.
Her wrists were bound, she had suffered head injuries and her body was partially wrapped in a sheet.
Detectives established Ms Cartwright travelled to the city by train in the days leading up to her death and used dating apps — one of which police allege was used to meet Pietrobon.
Police say she was with Pietrobon on October 1 — her birthday — two days before her body was found.
Detectives allege he killed Ms Cartwright at his home in Haberfield that day, hid her body for two days, then drove her remains to the leafy reserve at Hunters Hill.
“Police will allege Nicole and this 51-year-old man had met through the dating application and social media sites that Nicole had been using and police will allege this man was the last person who met with Nicole,” Homicide Squad boss Superintendent Danny Doherty said.
Police claim they found forensic evidence leading to Pietrobon and also received useful information from the public.
“Not only forensic evidence to link him to Nicole but also to the crime scene (at Hunters Hill),” Supt Doherty said.
He described the case as “very sad and tragic”, with a stunning breakthrough for detectives who had spent almost two years on the case.
Pietrobon, who is a divorced father of two, is due to front Parramatta Local Court on Thursday.
Nicole’s brother Ben said the family was processing the news.
“It’s hard to express in words what our family has been through since Nicole’s death,” Mr Cartwright said in a statement today.
“Nicole was very much loved as a sister and daughter; a cherished member of our family,” he said.
“We grieve daily for Nicole and the life she never got to live, and we are still struggling to comprehend that she will never be coming home.
“On behalf of our family, we want to thank the community for sharing our appeals for information, and also thank those who provided information to the police.
“Thank you also to the NSW Police Force detectives, who have supported our family during this time and worked tirelessly to help bring justice for Nicole.
“As we continue to process this news, our family has requested privacy at this time.”