By Perry Duffin
A Sydney man is accused of murdering his wife with a homemade spear just months after he convinced a court to water down a domestic violence order keeping him out of the family home.
Talaat Hawatt, also known as Terrance Howot, was arrested in Sydney’s west on Wednesday and charged with the murder of his wife, Khouloud Bakour Hawatt.
Khouloud Bakour Hawatt was found dead inside her home on Wednesday morning. Her husband, Talaat, is accused of her murder.Credit: Facebook
Hawatt is suspected of using a knife strapped to a long pole to inflict the deadly attack on the 31-year-old mother-of-five in their unit on Knox Street in Belmore.
After a decade of assaults and weapons charges, the 35-year-old landed on the radar of the specialised anti-domestic violence squad Amarok.
Police had taken out apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) against Hawatt to protect Bakour Hawatt, but the latest was watered down at the couple’s request.
A constable from Campsie asked Bankstown Local Court to make an ADVO that ordered Hawatt to stay away from his wife from February 14.
Hawatt was not to contact, assault, threaten, stalk or damage anything belonging to Bakour Hawatt and could only speak to her through a lawyer, according to the interim Valentine’s Day court order.
Police cordoned off Knox Street while they investigate Khouloud Bakour Hawatt’s death.Credit: Rhett Wyman
But in April, Hawatt asked for the ADVO to be varied so he could move back into the home. Bankstown Local Court in August changed the ADVO so Hawatt could return and have contact with his wife.
Less than four months later, Hawatt is again before the courts, charged with Bakour Hawatt’s murder and breaching the ADVO.
Hawatt was emotionless as he faced Bankstown Local Court on Thursday afternoon via video link.
High-profile solicitor Mostafa Daoudie did not ask the court to consider Hawatt’s release on bail.
Bakour Hawatt was born in Syria, but her social media profiles suggest she was from Tripoli in Lebanon.
Hawatt was arrested in Thailand after allegedly firing a handgun at his uncle’s hotel door in 2010.
He married Bakour in Lebanon in 2015, shortly before he was arrested by Lebanese authorities and accused of links to the terrorist group Islamic State.
Hawatt was released without charge, and the couple returned to Australia to raise their growing family.
Bakour Hawatt was a faithful Muslim and shared dozens of loving prayers for her family online.
She is in the prayers of grieving relatives, who are calling for justice.
“May God have mercy on you, sister,” one wrote.
Friend Mohamed Shaar told Nine News Bakour Hawatt was a “pure woman”.
“She was a pure soul, a great mother and a great wife,” he said.
One neighbour told the Herald that police had frequently been called to the unit after disturbances, including twice in one day.
Sources close to the family have told the Herald the couple were in the process of being evicted from the home this week.
In response to the alleged killing, Police Commissioner Karen Webb said deaths of women to domestic violence keep her awake at night.
“Any death in a domestic violence setting breaks my heart because we focus so much time and energy working with our partners, right across government, non-government, to stop domestic violence,” Webb said on Wednesday.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.
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