Brendan Kantilla found guilty of murdering Bangladeshi student
‘It was a long process’: Following a week-long trial, a jury has found Brendan Kantilla guilty of murder - giving the Bangladeshi community closure after more than two-and-half-years of waiting.
Tiwi Islander Brendan Kantilla has been found guilty of murdering Bangladeshi student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman.
In May 2023, Mr Rahman was sleeping peacefully at his Millner share house when Kantilla broke into the property.
Recognising Mr Rahman as a man he had been in a verbal exchange with earlier that night, he picked up a paver tile and crushed the international student’s head.
Kantilla proceeded to rummage through the student’s bedroom when Mr Rahman started having a seizure.
Kantilla then grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and again bashed his victim’s head – silencing him forever.
When his presence became known to other tenants, a scuffle broke out between Kantilla and other students who chased him from the property.
For more than 30 hours Mr Rahman was on life support before he died.
He had only been in Australia three months when his life was cut short.
More than two-and-half-years since the killing, Kantilla appeared at the NT Supreme Court last week and pleaded guilty to Mr Rahman’s manslaughter but not guilty to his murder.
His defence lawyer, Phillip Boulten SC, argued Kantilla was intellectually disabled and that he was mentally impaired the night of the attack.
The jury also heard from the prosecutor, Lloyd Babb SC, who maintained the Tiwi Islander planned the attack and was in control when delivering the fatal blows.
Kantilla’s cognitive ability became a central issue throughout the trial, with two neuropsychologists who examined the Tiwi Islander called to give evidence.
Neither diagnosed Kantilla as being intellectually disabled, however one of the specialists, Dr Laura Scott, said it was “more likely than not” that he was.
Fellow neuropsychologist, Dr Peter Ashkar, disagreed and said the accused knew what he was doing and what the consequences were.
Closing submissions were made on Friday, however the jury was unable to come to a verdict before the weekend.
Instead, they returned to the courtroom on Monday morning to continue their deliberation.
By midday, the jury told the courtroom they had unanimously found Kantilla guilty.
Kantilla was unmoved when the decision was read out.
After excusing the jury, Justice Sonia Brownhill moved the matter to Thursday, December 4, 2025 for sentencing.
Members of the Bangladeshi community, who have waited for closure, spoke to the media outside the courthouse.
Community leader Chowdhury Sadaruddin said he was “relieved” by the jury’s finding.
“Obviously it was a long process,” he said.
“There is a closing now which is good for the family.
“We are feeling relieved, the whole community is feeling relieved.”
Mr Sadaruddin said the ordeal had affected his “tight community”, who had to wait a long time with uncertainty.
“Questions were asked ‘what is happening?’” he said.
Asked what his own emotions were, Mr Sadaruddin teared up.
“I was actually involved in washing his body,” he said.
“I was involved when his life support was taken off – I was there, present with his mum.”
Noorun Salma, who has been monitoring the matter since Mr Rahman died, said the community could now look to the future.
“We’ll not get Sifat back but we don’t want any more loss in our community or anywhere,” she said.
“We are happy with the judgement.”
Meanwhile, Mr Babb’s attention has already turned to sentencing.
“I’m really going to leave everything until Thursday when we do the sentencing submissions,” he said.
Fate looms for alleged murderer who thinks ‘like a child’
A Tiwi Islander accused of murdering an international student will have to wait at least another three days to learn his fate.
Brendan Kantilla has been charged with the murder of manslaughter of Bangladeshi student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman, who died in May 2023 after the Tiwi Island man attacked him in his sleep with a paver tile and a fire extinguisher.
Mr Kantilla pleaded guilty to Mr Rahman’s manslaughter this week, but not guilty to his murder.
At the start of the trial, defence counsel Phillip Boulten SC said Mr Kantilla’s actions were not in dispute, but rather his intent and whether he was mentally impaired on the night of the attack.
Prosecutor Lloyd Babb SC argued Mr Kantilla set upon Mr Rahman with a “high degree of planning” and understood the force in which he bludgeoned the student.
On Friday morning, both parties gave their closing submissions.
Mr Babb told the jury the defendant targeted Mr Rahman.
“This attack wasn’t an act done on impulse,” he said.
“He marked the property mentally in his mind and returned there with the specific intention of retaliating against the deceased.”
He also asked the jury to reject any suggestion Mr Kantilla did not understand the consequences of his “ferocious” attack.
“He did not have any underlying pre-existing mental condition or physiological condition,” he said.
As for the defence, Mr Boulten focused on the mental state of his client.
“The biggest difference between the parties in this case is the argument about whether Brendan Kantilla had an intellectual disability,” he said.
He cited Dr Laura Scott’s findings Mr Kantilla was behind 99 per cent of his peers, saying his intelligence was “markedly” behind not just all Australians, but specifically people from his island.
“He is the equivalent of a grown man thinking like a child,” he said.
Mr Boulten also took aim at neuropsychologist Dr Peter Ashkar, who he said “downplayed” the severity of Mr Kantilla’s cognitive ability.
He asked the jury to find his client guilty of manslaughter - not murder.
“He expects to be punished and he should be punished,” he said.
At 4.30pm, Justice Sonia Brownhill asked the jury if they wanted take the weekend before making their their decision.
The jury agreed and the matter will return on Monday.
‘I disagree’: Alleged murderer’s mental state divides neuropsychologists
Two neuropsychologists disagree on the cognitive ability of a man who bashed an international student’s head with a paver, a jury has heard.
Brendan Kantilla is charged with murdering international student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman in May 2023 after bashing the sleeping Bangladeshi’s head with a paver and a fire extinguisher.
Mr Kantilla pleaded guilty to Mr Rahman’s manslaughter this week, but not guilty to his murder.
On Wednesday, Victorian-based neuropsychologist Dr Laura Scott told the jury Mr Kantilla was “more likely than not” intellectually disabled.
On Thursday, the prosecution called its own witness - Victorian-based neuropsychologist Dr Peter Ashkar.
Dr Ashkar noted his findings were similar to Dr Scott, but said he wasn’t of the same view.
“Where we differ perhaps is in our interpretation of those results,” he said.
“I disagree with Ms Scott in the sense that... with her opinion Mr Kantilla’s performances were not influenced by his cultural background - I absolutely disagreed with that.”
Dr Ashkar conceded Mr Kantilla’s upbringing was marred by domestic violence, family loss, substance abuse and depression, however he maintained the Tiwi Islander understood the difference between right and wrong.
“He believes it is worse to harm a woman, an old person or person with a baby - not because of the principles of vulnerability or empathy, but because he believes that the legal consequences would be much more severe,” he said.
“This demonstrates very simplistic, hierarchical and consequence-driven model of framework.”
Dr Ashkar also said the defendant conducted a test in which he demonstrated inhibitory control.
“He’s able to slow himself down, stop and think before he acts - that’s what that (test) result tells me,” he said.
Asked if he believed Mr Kantilla had an intellectual disability, Dr Ashkar said he found evidence to rule out such a diagnosis.
Defence counsel Phillip Boulten SC pressed Dr Ashkar on whether he had ever been to Darwin, to which the witness said he had not.
Mr Boulten then queried the doctor as to why did not interview Mr Kantilla with an Aboriginal interpreter and raise the issue with the prosecutor’s office.
“I didn’t have any concerns about the communication I had with Mr Kantilla at the time,” Dr Ashkar replied.
Mr Boulten said the doctor failed to deeply examine several areas of Mr Kantilla’s life, such as his chequered school record.
“I’m suggesting you looked pretty superficially at Brendan Kantilla’s adaptive functioning in the interview you conducted (with him), what would you say about that?” he asked.
“I would disagree,” Dr Ashkar responded.
Mr Boulten put to Dr Ashkar there was enough evidence to suggest Mr Kantilla had cognitive profile consistent with an intellectual disability.
“No I don’t agree with that at all,” Dr Ashkar said.
Both parties are expected to make their final submissions on Friday.
Court hears alleged murderer had the cognitive ability of a child
Wednesday, 27 November: A Tiwi Islander who caved in the head of a Bangladeshi student has an IQ of 62 and is “likely” to have a mild intellectual disability, a court has been told.
Brendan Kantilla is accused of murdering international student Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman in May 2023 after bashing the sleeping Bangladeshi’s head with a paver and a fire extinguisher.
This week, Mr Kantilla pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Rahman but not guilty to his murder.
His lawyer, Phillip Boulten SC, told the jury earlier this week that the defence would argue his client’s mental state – namely his cognitive ability – affected his actions on the night of the violent attack.
On Wednesday, the defence called on Victoria-based neuropsychologist Doctor Laura Scott to give evidence.
Dr Scott, who compiled a report on Mr Kantilla, shared her findings of the Tiwi Islander.
She said Mr Kantilla told her in an interview that he “did not want to kill” the Bangladeshi - only hurt him.
Through tests conducted with Mr Kantilla, she found Mr Kantilla to have an IQ of 62 - putting him in the ‘first percentile’.
“Poorer than 99 per cent of his peers,” she said.
“This is considered a reliable estimate of his current intellectual function.”
She also said he displayed the organisational ability of a nine year-old.
The court heard Mr Kantilla was educated on Bathurst Island until he was 16, at which point he relocated to Darwin to attend St John’s College.
While researching Mr Kantilla’s background, Dr Scott said she found a record of a 16 year-old Mr Kantilla having undertaken a reading assessment.
The school determined him to have the reading ability of a 10 year-old.
As part of her examination, Dr Scott said she reviewed CAT scan results conducted on Mr Kantilla which showed no signs of a traumatic brain injury.
The court did hear Mr Kantilla had a rheumatic heart condition for which he continued to receive treatment.
His family did have some history of disability, the doctor said, though it was generally related to physical not neurological issues.
Dr Scott said she was unable to make a formal diagnosis on the defendant, but did offer her professional opinion.
“It’s more likely than not that he has an intellectual disability,” she told the jury.
She was then cross-examined by prosecutor Lloyd Babb SC, who put to her that Mr Kantilla demonstrated a “high degree of planning” when he scanned the residence for CCTV cameras before attacking Mr Rahman in his bed.
She said she partly agreed, but maintained he was not necessarily in control of the situation.
Mr Babb raised Mr Kantilla’s decision to walk away from Mr Rahman and his friend when he was called a “motherf--ker’ and insulted by the pair about an hour before the attack.
“(Mr Kantilla) said he’d been drinking all day and had been slurring his words – so he had the capacity to experience that sort of provocative language and ignore it, didn’t he?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“And that speaks to his capacity to control himself, doesn’t it?” Mr Babb asked.
Dr Scott paused before responding.
“Yes… but there are individual factors that need to be considered.”
Mr Babb put to Dr Scott the defendant “wanted to hurt someone” - as he’d told her in an interview.
“So it wasn’t just a plan to steal was it?” he asked.
“No,” she said.
Alleged murderer went against NAAJA’s advice: Court
Tuesday, November 25: A man who crushed the head of a sleeping international student went against legal advice and laughed about the violent incident during his police interview, a court has heard.
Brendan Kantilla is accused of murdering Md ‘Sifat’ Isfaqur Rahman – an international student who had been in Australia just three months before his life was cut short.
Mr Kantilla has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Rahman but not guilty to his murder.
On Monday, the jury heard that in the early hours of May 3, 2023, the international student was sleeping in his Millner share house when Mr Kantilla broke into the house and bludgeoned Mr Rahman’s skull with a pavement tile and a fire extinguisher.
Mr Kantilla’s lawyer, Phillip Boulten SC, maintains his client’s underlying cognitive issues meant he did not have the ability to stop his own violent attack.
On day two, the trial heard evidence from Detective Senior Constable First Class Matt Hughes, who told the jury of how investigators trawled through extensive CCTV footage to piece together Mr Kantilla’s movements on the night of the incident.
The trial then turned its attention to how police processed Mr Kantilla after his arrest.
Mr Boulten asked if his client was interviewed on the day of his arrest – to which the detective said he was not.
The court heard the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency emailed NT Police on the day of Mr Kantilla’s arrest, advising officers that their client would exercise his right to not be interviewed.
However, the court heard Mr Kantilla backflipped on that decision, opting to do an interview the following day.
“(Mr Kantilla) made it clear to you in that interview that he was prepared to answer questions – agreed?” Mr Boulten asked.
“Yes,” Mr Hughes replied.
“But you understood at that time that he was choosing to do so despite advice from a lawyer that he should not participate in an interview, agreed?” Mr Boulten asked.
“Yes,” Mr Hughes said.
Mr Boulten put to Mr Hughes that his client’s behavior was strange throughout the interview.
“Brendan Kantilla was, on a number of occasions, quite happy and laughing it seems, is that right?”
Mr Hughes agreed but said Mr Kantilla “might not have known” about the Bangladeshi man’s serious condition.
Alleged Victim’s extensive injuries revealed
Mr Rahman was on life support for more than 30 hours before he succumbed to his traumatic head injury, the jury heard.
The next witness was Doctor Marianne Tiemensma, who conducted a post-mortem of his body the day after he died.
She told the jury that the student sustained an extensive brain haemorrhage, as well as multiple skull and facial fractures - including broken eye sockets and a fractured sinus.
Blood flow to Mr Rahman’s brain was also hindered, which, according to Ms Tiemensma, made the Bangladeshi “brain dead”.
From her post-mortem findings, Ms Tiemensma attributed Mr Rahman’s death to blunt force trauma.
‘I’m coming back to this area’
In finishing day two, agreed facts were read to the jury, detailing which events were not contested between parties.
The jury heard Mr Rahman and his housemate were cleaners who were on the late shift the night of the student’s death.
At 2am, the pair wrapped up their duties and returned to their Trower Road home.
Parking a short distance from their share house, the pair crossed Mr Kantilla while on foot.
Unknown to each other, the parties broke into a verbal exchange.
“I’m coming back to this area,” Mr Kantilla told the pair.
At approximately 3am, Mr Kantilla returned to the residence, entering the building from the backdoor.
According to the agreed facts, when he found Mr Rahman snoozing, Mr Kantilla picked up a paver and used it to crush the man’s head.
A short time later, Mr Rahman had a seizure.
In response, Mr Kantilla picked up a nearby fire extinguisher and bashed the Bangladeshi with two more blows to the head, silencing the student, the agreed facts state.
From there, Mr Kantilla rummaged through Mr Rahman’s belongings.
Eventually, tenants were alerted to the intruder’s presence.
The agreed facts also state that Mr Kantilla was initially chased before a scuffle broke out in the front yard between himself and a trio of armed housemates.
At this point, Mr Rahman’s housemates were not aware of their friend’s condition.
It was only after Mr Kantilla fled the area that they found Mr Rahman seriously injured.
They took it upon themselves to drive him straight to the emergency department – calling police on the way.
Returning home, the housemates saw police questioning Mr Kantilla outside Rapid Creek shops.
They pulled over and the facts state they told the police Mr Kantilla was the man responsible for the attack.
Police arrested Mr Kantilla.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
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Originally published as Brendan Kantilla found guilty of murdering Bangladeshi student
