’When he finally goes to hell’: Murdered mum’s loved ones share trauma in Hobart court
The final moments of murdered Tasmanian mother have been aired in court. As harrowing details were recounted, it was revealed Darren Mark Wake told police “I had the knife. I just wanted her to shut up.”
Police & Courts
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After nurse Darren Mark Wake murdered his ex-wife, he told police that “anyone who has been in a bad relationship has had thoughts about bumping off their spouse”.
Harrowing details of the Christmas Day 2021 stabbing murder were aired in public for the first time on Thursday, more than two years after Rachel Anne Wake died with 17 stab wounds, plus another seven knife wounds, with her left jugular vein and both lungs pierced.
The Supreme Court of Tasmania heard Wake killed his ex-wife at her Mornington home with a flick knife he purchased from eBay, after their son hadn’t shown up to his house to open Christmas presents.
The former Royal Hobart Hospital registered nurse knocked on Ms Wake’s door, asking to see their son, but he refused – with Ms Wake delivering the message: “he doesn’t want to see you”.
In a statement of facts read to the court, Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC said Wake responded by saying: “please, it’s Christmas”.
Wake stepped forward, with Ms Wake telling him not to, and saying she would call the police if he came any further.
“I couldn’t understand why, she was trying to obstruct me from seeing (my son),” Mr Coates quoted Wake as having told police.
“She started screaming really loudly, I said ‘for God’s sake stop it.
“One side of my brain was saying ‘make it stop, make it stop’, and the other side of my brain was saying ‘don’t hurt her, don’t hurt her’.”
“I had the knife. I just wanted her to shut up.
“I pushed it in and pulled it out.
“I pushed it in again.
“I don’t remember how many times.
“It wasn’t a frenzy.
“I was saying ‘for God’s sake’.
“Then the rational side of my brain took over.
“I said ‘I’m sorry I’m sorry, oh baby what have I done’.”
Both their teenage children were at Ms Wake’s home at the time of the murder.
With the 52-year-old midwife unconscious on the floor and covered in blood, Wake then directed his children to call triple-0 – with the calls played to the court on Thursday.
During the calls, Wake can be heard saying “I’m the guy that just did it, I just stabbed Rachel Wake”.
“I just killed someone,” he told the operator.
“She’s really unwell, she’s blue.
“I’m doing CPR, there’s no hope, there’s blood everywhere.
“I have stabbed my wife multiple times. There’s an enormous amount of blood and she’s unconscious.”
Mr Coates said after he was arrested, Wake continued to make admissions to police both in the divisional van, in the remand centre and during the interview.
“He said he just wanted the screaming to stop,” Mr Coates said.
“(He said) it was 20 years of frustration and he acted stupidly.
“(He said) in the past, he thought about killing Ms Wake, but said anyone who has been in a bad relationship has had thoughts about bumping off their spouse.”
The court heard from a number of Ms Wake’s loved ones, who read out victim impact statements.
Ms Wake’s mother described her daughter as “funny, smart, loyal and loving – a ray of sunshine” and said she would never recover.
“No one had the right to take away her life, the life I had given her,” she said.
“Rachel was small and delicate with no physical defence against a person twice her size and strength. This evil perpetrated on the most holiest of days is agonising and no-one who loved her will ever be able to celebrate it again.”
She said Ms Wake had fallen in love with a new partner, a “wonderful man” and her life was “great” – until a “selfish, jealous” act took this from her.
Ms Wake’s mother said after her death, the community had expressed their great love for her – which was “something he will not have when he finally goes to hell”.
“I have never known hatred for another, but I do now.”
Ms Wake’s daughter Romany said she suffered “survivor’s guilt”, believing it was she that should have been murdered, and not her mother.
She said she now engaged in self-harm, due to the trauma inflicted upon her “by that man”.
Romany, now 21, also said she continued to find blood spatter at her home following the murder – including stained floorboards that required sanding and a bucket beneath the house that collected drops beneath the crime scene.
“I am still finding drops of blood around the house to this day,” she said.
Wake, now 61, did not enter a plea until 10 months after the murder, when he pleaded not guilty in October 2022 and intended to take the matter to trial.
He ultimately changed his plea in December last year.
The Supreme Court was expecting to hear a disputed facts hearing on Thursday, with Wake having previously denied he intended to assault his ex-wife when he went to her home, and didn’t intend to kill her during the stabbing attack.
However, that hearing was abandoned with the court hearing those matters were no longer in dispute.
Wake’s lawyer Fabiano Cangelosi said there was “one matter requiring investigation”, with an unknown document handed up to Justice Helen Wood.
Wake will return to court on March 5 for a mention, before a date is set for plea in mitigation ahead of sentence.
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