Teresa Mancuso’s family still grappling with her murder, 12 months on

A YEAR has passed since Teresa Mancuso was slain in her backyard but her family is no closer to closure.

Image of Teresa Mancuso, the Reservoir woman murdered in her home.

A YEAR after Teresa Mancuso was slain in her Reservoir backyard, her family is no closer to closure.

Instead they will gather at a special mass this week to remember the doting mother-of-two, 49, who was found stabbed to death at her Massey Ave home on July 15, 2013.

Her death has taken a heavy toll on her tight-knit Italian family, particularly on sons Luke and Daniel Paulino.

Daniel Paulino said he remembered his mum as an “angel” who would do anything for those she loved.

“She had the biggest heart, put everyone, especially me and Luke, before herself,” Mr Paulino, 24, said.

Mr Paulino still grapples with how a woman so popular and loved could have met such a violent end.

“I wouldn’t expect whoever did that to go do what they did to my mum ’cause my mum’s the type of person where everyone loved her, and she had a heart of gold,” he said.

In darker moments he also wonders if he could be next.

“It’s really hard, especially, for instance if I get home late at night and you know you’re thinking the next minute, ‘will it be me? If I get out of the car will they come to get me?’

“It’s just hard to keep going on.”

The family tries to stay hopeful, but it’s difficult when the killer is at large.

“It hurts a lot, obviously. It’s been a year now and we haven’t got any answers.”

Police won’t comment publicly on whether they have a suspect.

Homicide detective Robert Nazaretian said the investigation continued “however we are not inclined to make any further comment at this stage”.

Last year police appealed to the public to help identify a four-wheel drive caught on CCTV doing laps of Massey Ave on the night of the murder, and a vehicle seen protruding from a neighbour’s driveway about 9pm that night.

Today the family continues to wait in hope.

“I know they’ve still got some stuff they’re still waiting on and still progressing, so fingers crossed they can speed that up and all that can be revealed and we can have some answers,” Mr Paulino said.

When asked if believed the killer would be caught, he said: “At the end of the day we can only try to be confident.”

In October the family will host a sold-out event to raise money for domestic violence services, a cause Daniel Paulino said his mother felt strongly about.