Man charged with Valentine’s Day murder gets $2 million bail
A man who police claim bludgeoned to death a man on Valentine’s Day after a sex act, is out on $2 million bail despite “powerful evidence” against him.
A man, who police allege bludgeoned and partly decapitated a man in Sydney on Valentine’s Day with a statuette after a sex act, has been granted $2 million bail despite “powerful evidence” and “likely conviction” against him.
Justice Peter Hamill said the police case against Naji Fakhreddine was “a very strong one”, but released the 66-year-old on strict conditions and a $2 million surety from his family.
Police allege Mr Fakhreddine, who is the father of a former Lone Wolf bike gang boss, left bloody fingerprints on a statuette he allegedly bludgeoned German national Bernd Lehmann with on Valentine’s Day 2008.
Mr Fakhreddine, a taxi driver who police claim met Mr Lehmann at a leagues club, also allegedly left his semen inside his victim’s mouth, the court has heard.
Granting Mr Fakhreddine’s release on Tuesday, NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Hamill described the case against the 66-year-old as “a very strong one”.
He described evidence of a fingerprint “deposited in blood” on the broken figurine as “compelling”.
“A compelling case has been compiled by police of DNA and fingerprint evidence establishing likely sexual relationship between the two men … and linked to the bloodstained headless statuette found at the murder scene,” Justice Hamill said.
“Evidence is likely to be admitted at a trial and a jury will hear [a crime scene officer’s evidence] about a palm print and fingerprint on the weapon that the prosecution will contend caused the blunt force injuries that are part of the horrific injuries that led to his death.”
Justice Hamill said DNA evidence had “established to a degree of near certainty of the presence in the flat” of Mr Fakhreddine “and also the likelihood of … a mixed DNA profile in the deceased’s throat partially deposited in semen”.
But Justice Hamill said Mr Fakhreddine, who has eight children and 18 grandchildren, had close community ties and was not a flight risk.
With Covid-19 restrictions on court hearings, the accused was unlikely to face trial until at least late next year.
Nevertheless Justice Hamill imposed strict bail conditions, including reporting to police and not approaching an airport.
Justice Hamill said that Mr Fakhreddine had admitted after being shown a photograph of Mr Lehmann in his first videotaped police interview after his arrest in March that he knew the deceased.
He said that Mr Lehmann had been planning to return to his native Germany on the day he died and had told another former sexual partner that he was taking a taxi, but had not ordered one.
He said it was not in contention that Mr Lehmann had died from “an extremely violent and brutal murder … with many, many injuries [and] some kind of attempt to decapitate him”.
The court heard in submissions a week ago that Bernd Lehmann was brutally bashed and killed inside his Ashfield unit in Sydney’s inner west and the crime has remained a mystery for more than a decade.
Police allege Mr Fakhreddine, a taxi driver, killed Mr Lehmann shortly after performing a sex act.
Mr Lehmann, who was aged 66 in 2008, suffered serious head wounds during the attack, which police have previously described as “vicious”.
Mr Fakhreddine, who has denied the allegations, has been in jail since his arrest in March.
The officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Senior Constable Margaret Ashburn, told the court earlier this month that police would allege Mr Fakhreddine’s DNA had linked him to the crime scene.
However, Mr Fakhreddine’s barrister Peter Lange attacked the evidence against his client, saying there were inconsistencies relating to a key piece of evidence allegedly left at the scene.
According to a Crown case statement tendered to the court, Mr Fakhreddine’s bloody fingerprints and palm prints were discovered on the statuette that was used to bash Mr Lehmann to death.
However, Mr Lange said statements made by crime scene investigators made no mention of the fingerprints being bloody.
“It does not refer to the fingerprint being in blood, does it?” Mr Lange asked.
“No it doesn’t,” Constable Ashburn said.
Constable Ashburn said she had been told by two other officers that the prints were in blood.
She described the discrepancy as an “oversight” and said she needed more time to source additional statements from the crime scene investigators.
Justice Hamill said bloody fingerprints would hold considerable weight for the Crown, noting that fingerprints with no presence of blood could have been left there prior to the murder.
“I’m not underestimating the other things you rely on in terms of the strength of the case,” Justice Hamill said.
“But if there’s one compelling piece of forensic evidence, it seems to be [the bloody fingerprint].”
The court was told that Mr Fakhreddine’s DNA was also found on eight cigarette butts inside Mr Lehmann’s lounge room, as well as on a swab from inside Mr Lehmann’s mouth during a post-mortem.
Mr Lange read from a forensic report that said the sample had been identified as semen, however the DNA of both Mr Fakhreddine and Mr Lehmann had been found on the swab.
“The swab does not distinguish between the origin, that is whether it was Mr Lehmann’s sperm or the applicant’s sperm,” Mr Lange said.
Police have alleged Mr Fakhreddine and Mr Lehmann were friends and lovers after meeting at Wests Ashfield Leagues Club in the weeks prior to the murder.
Mr Fakhreddine’s lawyers have downplayed the claim the pair engaged in sexual activity, saying that the only witness who could testify about this had since died.
However, Crown Prosecutor Jessica Chan told the court there was clear evidence they engaged in a sexual act before Mr Lehmann’s murder.
“As a matter of common sense, the Crown submits that it would be implausible that it was the deceased’s own semen that was located in his own mouth,” Ms Chan said.
According to the prosecution, Mr Fakhreddine allegedly killed Mr Lehmann inside the Alt Street unit before going to the sink to wash the blood off his hands.
The court was told it is further alleged Mr Fakhreddine slashed open a purple suitcase that was sitting at the end of Mr Lehmann’s bed.
Constable Ashburn said Mr Fakhreddine’s DNA was not found in the bathroom or on the suitcase.
Mr Lange further said that DNA belonging to a woman had also been found on the suitcase.
Mr Fakhreddine is the father of Hassan Fakhreddine, who was last year sentenced to at least eight years in prison for his role in a massive MDMA shipment.
The two crimes are not linked.
The court was told on Thursday that Hassan Fakhreddine, a one-time Lone Wolf OMCG boss, had told police he had left the gang since being jailed alongside Michael Ibrahim.
The court was told that Naji Fakhreddine had a clean criminal record prior to his arrest.
Mr Lehmann’s death was the subject of a coronial inquest in 2012 that resulted in it being referred to the unsolved homicide unit.