Ben Coman admits he murdered pregnant ex, Michelle Darragh, at Bayswater North home
An emotionless Ben Coman has admitted to murdering the pregnant mother of his children in the weeks after their split.
Police & Courts
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The estranged partner of slain mum Michelle Darragh has pleaded guilty to her murder.
Ben Coman at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday entered a plea of guilty to the murder of Ms Darragh, 32, who was found dead in his Bayswater North home on October 9 last year.
Appearing via video link from Melbourne Remand Centre, Coman was emotionless when asked for his plea.
“I plead guilty, your honour,” he said.
No details of the murder were aired in court during the brief hearing.
Ms Darragh had two young sons and was pregnant with a third child when her lifeless body was discovered by her worried father.
Coman, who was 29 at the time, spent more than a week in hospital under police guard while receiving treatment for life threatening injuries he sustained inside the home.
In the weeks before her murder, the pair had split.
Ms Darragh had been living with her parents and had gone back to Coman’s home to collect some items on the night of her death.
She went alone and when her parents hadn’t heard from her for a few hours, they began to worry.
The tragic scene was discovered by her father, who smashed his way into the home to find his daughter dead and Coman with critical injuries.
The pair’s two surviving children were not at the home at the time of the incident.
Coman, who was a tradesman operating a custom joinery and shop fitting business, was charged with her murder about a week later.
He made no application for bail and has remained in custody since the incident.
Coman will appear at the Supreme Court on September 29 for a pre-sentence hearing.
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