Kevin Stanischewski accused of exposing Darwin River mum to ‘pervasive domestic violence’ before alleged poisoning death
A father who allegedly left his unconscious wife without any medical help for hours has been granted bail after being charged with her death. WARNING: This story contains references to suicide and domestic violence.
A Darwin father allegedly ignored his unconscious wife’s medical emergency for hours, leaving her to slowly die in their home as he cooked a lasagne for their daughter.
Prosecutors have alleged a 41-year-old woman who was found dead in her family’s Darwin River home was the victim of “pervasive domestic violence” at the hands of her husband, Kevin Stanischewski.
While her death on March 12, 2024 was initially treated as non-suspicious, an extensive police investigation determined she died from poisoning.
Mr Stanischewski was arrested 18 months after her death and charged with manslaughter and failure to rescue.
The NT News has chosen not to name the woman without her family’s consent.
The courts heard the woman had complex mental health issues, and told her husband that day she was going to poison herself.
It is alleged he found her unconscious at home at 3pm, but did nothing to help, and five hours later had cooked and shared a lasagne with his daughter.
It was only after he realised the severity of her condition he alerted his mother and performed CPR, but paramedics were called too late to save her.
On Monday, Mr Stanischewski was granted bail from the Supreme Court after three bail hearings, after initially being knocked back in the Darwin Local Court in August.
In October, Prosecutor Tamara Grealy opposed Mr Stanischewski bail review, alleging his failure to get help for his dying wife was the final act of callousness to the woman he had repeatedly abused.
Ms Grealy alleged the pathologist noted the woman had injuries and “healing bruises” all over her body, while witnesses had told investigators they had seen Mr Stanischewski being violent towards her.
Justice John Burns said it was unusual to have a homicide offence not of “commission, but an offence of omission”.
“You can’t compare that with a case where somebody has actually committed an offence of violence towards their partner,” he said.
But Ms Grealy said this was still an allegation of a woman dying in a domestically violent relationship.
“It really isn’t a case of chalk and cheese, it’s two different manifestations of serious domestic violence that has led to the death of this woman,” she said.
“Domestic violence often happens with omissions, with controlling behaviour.
“Not only is there physical and mental violence, it’s the physical control, the fact that he’s not getting her the mental care that help she requires despite telling doctors that he will.
“She’s in the position where she needs him to assist her, to stop her from taking the poison and to get her assistance because of the pervasive domestic violence in their relationship”.
Ms Grealy said four months before her death the woman had to walk from their rural property to the Darwin River Tavern “seeking help to get to Cowdy”, the mental health unit in Royal Darwin Hospital.
“(His) response to that, which was observed by a number of people, was extremely aggressive,” she said.
Mr Stanischewski’s defence barrister Richard Bryson rejected the characterisation of his client as acting “callously and in blatant disregard for her welfare”.
Mr Bryson said the woman’s death was “nothing short of tragic”, and came in the background of her complex mental health issues.
“The sad reality is that the deceased had regularly threatened suicide and self harm, “ he said.
“(He) misapprehended the seriousness of the situation.”
He said the long term Territorian with significant family ties wished to be reunited with his nine-year-old daughter, who was being cared for by her grandmother.
“He’s very keen to maintain those parental responsibilities. She’s at a very formative age and she’s obviously lost her mother,” Mr Bryson said.
But Ms Grealy said there were particular concerns about Mr Stanischewski trying to influence his daughter, as well as his extended family and workers at the nearby Darwin River Tavern, who were witnesses to the long-running investigation.
Justice Burns noted in a secretly recorded conversation, Mr Stanischewski told his young daughter it had not been his “intention” for her mother to die.
Ms Grealy alleged he told her to “stop talking about it”, with the nine-year-old recorded saying “it wasn’t homicide for mum, but it wasn’t an accident either”.
She alleged Mr Stanischewski responded he “never wanted her to die”.
After three different bail hearings, Justice Burns granted Mr Stanischewski bail on the condition he could not leave Humpty Doo, unless for medical or dental emergencies, court hearings, or for his daily morning gym sessions.
He was barred from approaching any witnesses, and will only be able to see his daughter in supervised visits or telephone calls, and even then was specifically warned against talking about her mother’s death.
He was bailed to return to the Darwin Local Court on November 26.
