‘Pure evil’: Family of slain man Michael Caposiena speak out

The family of a man who was killed by his jilted ex-lover and her new husband have described the toll the couple’s “evil” crimes has taken on them.

The heartbroken family of a man who was killed in a bungled plot by his jilted ex-lover and her new husband say their lives have been torn apart by the pair’s “evil” crimes.

Biannca Edmunds, 37, was last year found guilty of murdering her ex Michael Caposiena, 32, after she goaded her husband of two weeks Glen Cassidy into shooting him.

In a victim impact statement read to the Supreme Court on Friday, Mr Caposiena’s girlfriend Silvana Silva, who was assaulted during the incident, said she suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing her partner’s murder at the front door of their Westmeadows unit.

Biannca Edmunds with her husband Glen Cassidy. Picture: Supplied

“I still suffer to this day, putting all my struggles into words is difficult,” she said.

“Losing Michael was the most difficult thing I’ve had to endure in my entire life.”

Mr Caposiena’s family and friends packed out the courtroom, with some holding back tears as their statements were read out by prosecutor Neill Hutton.

The slain man’s sister Maria Bortone described Edmunds as “pure evil” while another sibling Teresa Affina said her brother had been “ripped away”.

“All we want is justice and closure for our brother,” Ms Affina said.

Wearing a cream coloured jacket, Edmunds was seated behind Mr Caposiena’s family in the prisoner dock and looked down as they described the toll their loved one’s murder had taken.

“It was a hateful evil act that cannot ever be taken back,” sister Sandra Zaffina said.

Edmunds faced three trials before she was convicted of murder in December when a jury found she had plotted with her new husband to kill Mr Caposiena.

On March 12, 2016, Cassidy drove to Mr Caposiena’s apartment in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and shot him as he answered the front door.

But a suspicious Mr Caposiena had armed himself with a knife after his partner alerted him that she saw Cassidy walking past the window.

Edmunds leaving the Supreme Court during her trial. Picture: Nicki Connolly

Michael Caposiena was killed at the front door of their Westmeadows unit. Picture: Facebook

Before he was shot, Mr Caposiena was able to stab his assailant who collapsed and died at the scene.

Edmunds was 150km away in Shepparton when her husband, who was almost 20 years older than her, pulled the trigger.

She denied any involvement, and claimed Cassidy, 49, acted alone but the jury saw through her lies and delivered a guilty verdict after just one day of deliberations.

The retrial heard a child custody dispute was at the centre of the murder plot.

Edmunds’ barrister Sharon Lacy told Friday’s hearing her client was not the “driving force” behind the murder.

The firearm Cassidy used to shoot Mr Caposiena. Picture: Supplied

The bloodied knife Mr Caposiena used to stab Cassidy before being shot. Picture: Supplied

But she accepted Edmunds, who planned to be in Darwin when the plot was executed, had plenty of time to reconsider and talk Cassidy out of it.

“We accept she wanted it done, we accept she kept him comforted and moved the thing along,” Ms Lacy said.

Justice Lex Lasry said intercepted phone calls between the husband and wife in which they spoke about the plot in code were “quite extraordinary”.

“I’ve heard plenty of intercepted phone calls, none of them quite so calm as hers,” he said.

“They were spliced with talks on everyday issues.”

Police did not charge Edmunds with murder until June 2019, extraditing her to Victoria from Canberra where her children and her lived with her father.

The court heard Edmunds’ new partner remains supportive of her and they speak on the phone almost daily.

Edmunds will return to the Supreme Court for sentence at a later date.