Ex-partner Craig McDermott witnessed stabbing mother Fiona Warzywoda in throat, court hears
A MAN who denies murdering his ex-partner pulled her hair back and stabbed her in the throat before horrified witnesses, a court has heard.
Law & Order
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A MAN who denies murdering his ex-partner pulled her hair back and stabbed her in the throat before horrified witnesses, a court has heard.
Mr McDermott has pleaded not guilty to her murder, claiming his ex-partner pulled a pocket knife on him when he approached her following a court hearing.
But two sisters who worked at a hairdressing salon metres from where mother of four Fiona Warzywoda was killed, have given a graphic account of the moment they claim Craig McDermott stabbed her to death.
Lieu Thi Tran told the Supreme Court she saw Mr McDermott plunge a knife into Ms Warzywoda’s stomach before describing in gruesome detail her bloody demise.
“And then after that, I see the knife in through her neck,’’ she said.
“His hand is holding her like that, and pull her hair back like that, and then um — he use the right hand side to (stab) her on the neck.”
Ms Warzywoda was killed outside her solicitor’s office in Sunshine on April 16, 2014 following a bitter custody dispute.
His barrister, John Desmond, accused the witness of adopting her sister’s testimony, who a day earlier gave the jury a similar account of the alleged murder.
“I put to you that the man did not grab the lady by the hair at the top or side, top of the head, pull the hair and stab her in the neck at any stage,’’ he said.
“If I didn’t see with my own eyes, I wouldn’t tell you that,’’ Ms Tran replied.
Other witnesses described a chaotic scene before seeing Mr McDermott running from the scene with the bloody knife in his hand.
The trial continues.