‘This is not a man’: Jail for murder of woman after years of abuse

2 months ago 17

A man has been jailed for a maximum of 24 years for murdering his ex-partner in her Sydney apartment, in the culmination of years of violence that a judge said was fuelled by a dangerous fixation and anger at rejection.

On May 26, 2023, Danny Zayat killed 34-year-old Tatiana Dokhotaru inside her 22nd-floor apartment in Liverpool in Sydney’s south-west, after ending her desperate Triple Zero call and throwing her phone off her balcony.

Tatiana Dokhotaru was murdered by her ex-partner inside her 22nd floor apartment in Liverpool

Zayat, 30, fled with money Dokhotaru had earlier saved for their future, left her body in the apartment for 20 hours, and blamed her death on suicide when emergency services found her the next day.

At the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, Justice Desmond Fagan sentenced Zayat to 24 years’ jail with a non-parole period of 18 years, after a jury earlier found him guilty of murder.

He said that too often the threat of a heavy jail sentence does not “penetrate the thoughts and actions of fixated, controlling males”, who are dangerous for women who have rejected them and are trying to break free.

“There was ample time for [Zayat] to get a grip, to recognise that he was routinely assaulting, injuring and frightening a defenceless woman, and that his actions were wrong by any human standard,” Fagan said.

“Instead, he pressed on with the final lethal assault on 26 May.”

Danny Zayat has been jailed for a maximum of 24 years for murdering his ex-partner, Tatiana Dokhotaru.

Fagan read out a message a doctor sent Dokhotaru as she urged her to report the abuse: “This is not a man, and such people do not stop.”

Russian-born and Canadian-raised Dokhotaru met Zayat in 2017. She described him to friends as the love of her life.

Throughout the next five years, their relationship spiralled into violence, with friends witnessing Zayat’s physical abuse in public. In late 2022, the pair moved out of their shared home and Dokhotaru rented the Liverpool apartment in which she was killed.

Despite their separation, Zayat remained possessive of Dokhotaru, exploding into violent rage whenever he discovered she’d spoken to other men.

In early April 2023, the month before Dokhotaru was killed, their relationship was at rock bottom. They had broken up but continued communicating, expressing their love for each other despite Zayat’s escalating violence.

In one of hundreds of texts released to the court, Dokhotaru said their relationship was “like putting together broken glass” and Zayat had destroyed her.

Weeks before her murder, after Zayat had attacked her and then showered her with compliments, apologies and promises to change, Dokhotaru wrote: “I love you … I’m giving you a second chance.” Zayat responded: “Trust me we are going to be better than ever.”

Zayat’s abuse included beating her, choking her and spitting on her. Sometimes she confided in friends about his violence; other times, she made up excuses, such as falling over or being in a car crash.

As well as repeated physical abuse, Zayat would coercively control Dokhotaru by secretly monitoring her phone and dictating her social media use. He threatened to kill her if she spoke to another man and commonly called her vulgar names.

Tatiana Dokhotaru and Danny Zayat wait for the lift to her unit in the hours before she was murdered.

As Dokhotaru remained trapped in the cycle of abuse, Zayat slept at her apartment for the last few nights of her life.

On her last night alive, she shared a meal and some wine with a friend in her unit. After the friend left, she texted Zayat that she missed him and was in “so much pain” following an earlier attack by him. An apprehended domestic violence order was in place at the time, but did not prevent Zayat from spending time with Dokhotaru.

A text exchange between Tatiana Dokhotaru and her murderer Danny Zayat in the lead up to her death.

Zayat arrived at her unit at 10.35pm and was there for 65 minutes, CCTV footage showed. Dokhotaru was never heard from again.

Fagan found beyond reasonable doubt that, sometime after 11pm, Zayat inflicted three significant blunt force injuries to Dokhotaru’s head, either by striking her with his body or an object, thrusting her head against a hard surface – such as a wall or bench – or pushing her and causing her to fall against a hard surface.

Dokhotaru died from a brain bleed caused by blunt-force head trauma.

She had called Triple Zero during Zayat’s attack, saying her ex-boyfriend was trying to kill her and steal her money. But, Zayat threw her phone off the balcony, murdered her and fled. Emergency services tried to attend but did not know her unit number.

Almost 24 hours later, at 8pm the next day, Zayat returned to the unit and called Triple Zero, telling them that he found her dead, she had been depressed and she’d been “taking pills”.

Fagan found Zayat had tried to steal her money, having known she had a shoebox full of cash in her apartment.

During a period of reconciliation, the pair discussed plans to move to Dubai. Dokhotaru told Zayat about cash she’d saved from her luxury goods business and sent him a photo of a shoebox full of $100 bills, messaging: “Let’s build an empire.”

Fagan hoped that increasing public discussion or education may, in time, “help women to recognise early in a deteriorating relationship whether they may be facing grave danger from an obsessed, violent partner”.

The defence unsuccessfully argued Dokhotaru could have died accidentally, such as falling over while under the influence of several substances. She had alcohol, cannabis, diazepam, opiates and antihistamines in her system, but they were all found in low doses.

Zayat will be eligible for parole in 2043.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 131 114, beyondblue on 1800 512 348, Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).