Murder accused Nilisi Kaniki cried out as paramedics declared girlfriend Selma Ibrahim dead

A man on trial for bashing his pregnant girlfriend to death had cried out ‘no no no’ and struck a picture frame in distress after paramedics declared her dead, a jury has heard

Alleged murder victim Selma Ibrahim.

A man on trial for bashing his pregnant girlfriend to death had cried out “no no no” and struck a picture frame in distress after paramedics declared her dead, a jury has heard.

Nilisi Kaniki, 30, is on trial at Brisbane Supreme Court this week accused of murdering his girlfriend Selma Ibrahim, 24.

She was likely unaware that she had been seven weeks’ pregnant at the time, the jury were told during the prosecution’s opening statements on Tuesday.

On the second day of trial, the jury heard evidence from paramedics who had attended Ms Ibrahim’s Crestmead home early on September 25, 2019, after Kaniki dialled triple-0.

Paramedic James Humpston recounted finding Ms Ibrahim in the bathroom with significant swelling on her face and no pulse.

He couldn’t open her eyes due to the swelling and he noticed signs of early rigor mortis in her limbs, Mr Humpston said.

He said they moved Ms Ibrahim to the loungeroom, and Kaniki sat and watched on the couch as they attempted resuscitation.

Paramedics declared Selma Ibrahim dead at a Crestmead residence on September 25, 2019.

After Ms Ibrahim was declared dead at 7.07am, Kaniki appeared “quite distraught” and yelled “something along the lines of no, no, no,” Mr Humpston said.

Another paramedic Laura Meadows said Kaniki “threw his arms and head back” and struck a picture frame.

Ms Meadows said Kaniki had asked if he could get his phone, and that after they retrieved it together he appeared to be texting.

Mr Crane had told the jury during his opening submissions that Kaniki had sent a text at 7.15 that morning saying “bro if anyone asks, I was with you last night”.

Mr Humpston recalled Kaniki making multiple calls but said he didn’t understand the conversations as they had been in a foreign language.

He said Kaniki had told paramedics that he had found Ms Ibrahim unresponsive on the bathroom floor that morning.

Kaniki had told them she had been assaulted some time the previous night but didn’t seek medical treatment, he said.

Mr Humpston said Kaniki had also told them he had last seen Ms Ibrahim alive around 12.30am.

The jury were told during opening submissions that Kaniki had told police he had gone out to get drugs and that Ms Ibrahim had been “fine” watching TV at that time.

Mr Crane had labelled that an “untruth,” while defence barrister Jacob Robson questioned why his client would lie about this, considering the Crown case was that Ms Ibrahim had received her fatal injuries before 12.30am.

Kaniki pleaded not guilty at the start of trial to one count of murder and one of assaulting a pregnant woman causing the death of an unborn child.

Ms Ibrahim’s family cried out in court on Wednesday afternoon as the jury were shown images of her bruised and swollen face.

Pathology expert Lee Marr took the jury through each injury, which included dark purple bruising to Ms Ibrahim’s eyes and visible swelling to her lips.

Ms Marr said the injuries to Ms Ibrahim’s face were likely from multiple blows.

She said number of “fresh” bruises were also present on Ms Ibrahim’s body, including marks that appeared to be from fingertips or something similar on her arm and wrist.

The jury had previously been shown images of a seemingly uninjured Ms Ibrahim sitting in the back of a taxi less than 24 hours before her death - on the way home from Woolworths with her children.

Mr Crane had told the jury during his opening address that in addition to those images, they would also hear evidence from multiple witnesses who saw Ms Ibrahim uninjured throughout the day on September 24.

Ms Marr’s evidence will continue on Thursday. The trial is expected to continue for at least a week.

Originally published as Murder accused Nilisi Kaniki cried out as paramedics declared girlfriend Selma Ibrahim dead