What woman told triple-0 operator before she was allegedly murdered by her ex-partner
A woman called triple-0 before she was allegedly murdered inside her apartment and told an operator that her ex-boyfriend was “trying to kill me”, a court has been told.
A woman told a triple-0 operator “my ex-boyfriend is here and he’s trying to kill me” before her former partner is alleged to have murdered her inside her southwestern Sydney apartment, a court has been told.
Danny Zayat is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court having pleaded not guilty to the murder of Tatiana Dokhotaru inside her Liverpool unit in May 2023.
Mr Zayat is accused of killing his former partner by inflicting a number of blows to her head, possibly in combination with causing her to fall, during an argument inside her high rise apartment.
He has pleaded not guilty to murder and denies having inflicted any harm on her, and he claims she was still alive when he left the apartment.
The court has heard that Ms Dokhotaru called triple-0 during a heated argument with Mr Zayat, with the Crown alleging that he ended the call and threw her phone from the apartment.
The court was, on Tuesday, played the triple-0 call placed by Ms Dokhotaru on the evening of May 26, 2023.
“My ex-boyfriend is here and he’s trying to kill me,” Ms Dokhotaru said on the call.
She can also be heard repeatedly saying “give me my money” and telling the triple-0 operator that he was stealing her money.
The call was cut short before Ms Dokhotaru could give the operator her full address.
“What street address do you need police to go to please?” the operator asked.
She responded with the street name and number of her apartment building, but the call ended before she could give her unit number.
“She sought help,” Crown prosecutor Alex Morris told the jury during his closing remarks on Tuesday.
“She placed the call to triple-0.”
Mr Morris told the court that the call ended “unnaturally”.
The Crown case is that Mr Zayat ended the call and threw her phone from her balcony.
Mr Zayat is accused of murdering her at some point between 10.35pm and 11.40pm that night.
The court has been told that her neighbours, Saska Simic and Husam Alsadi, reported hearing an argument and thuds coming from her unit on the night she was allegedly murdered.
Mr Morris told the court that the couple reported hearing yelling and what they said sounded like things being thrown around.
One of the neighbours, Husam Alsadi, told the court during his evidence that he heard a male yelling “you f--king slut” and a woman yelling “get out, get out”.
Mr Alsadi described the man’s voice as being “guttural”, the court has been told.
The trial before Justice Desmond Fagan is due to conclude in the coming days with closing submissions from Mr Zayat’s legal team.
