Sydney man facing several domestic violence charges after woman's body found in Liverpool
| 30.05,23. 02:19 AM |
A Sydney concreter arrested after a woman's body was discovered in Liverpool is facing a string of domestic violence charges, allegedly from six different incidents.
Danny Zayat, 28, faced Liverpool Local Court on Monday after police found the body of Tatiana Dokhotaru, 34, on Saturday night.
He was charged with stalking or intimidate intending to cause fear of physical harm, breaching an AVO and destroying or damaging property.
Court documents show Mr Zayat is facing 18 charges of similar domestic-related offences, including two counts of choking without consent.
These incidents allegedly occurred over five separate occasions after March 2021.
All of the charges relate to Ms Dokhotaru, who is Mr Zayat's ex-partner.
It's understood the prior alleged offences against Ms Dokhotaru have come to light after her death, through reports from witnesses.
Outside court, his lawyer Talal Krayem did not answer questions about whether the charges would be upgraded.
Several family and supporters of Mr Zayat attended the hearing.
The matter has been adjourned to Friday, when Mr Zayat is expected to apply for bail.
A critical incident inquiry was launched by police to examine their response time, after it was revealed Ms Dokhotaru first called authorities late on Friday night.
Police said the woman told triple-0 operators she was being assaulted by someone demanding money, but said she did not leave her details with officers.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said police reached the apartment block at 3am on Saturday.
He said the unit block had 297 apartments, and police databases had different addresses attached to the woman's phone number, which made it harder to find her.
Officers found Ms Dokhotaru after a neighbour called emergency services on Saturday night, 20 hours after the woman's initial call for help.
Premier Chris Minns said the circumstances surrounding the police response needed to be thoroughly investigated.
"It's obviously a deeply traumatic and worrying incident, and I think many people in New South Wales will be concerned about the reported facts in relation to that case," he said.
"I want to make sure that police have got the resources and space to conduct that inquiry.
"But I acknowledge community concern about what is obviously a very disturbing incident."
Detective Acting Superintendent Virginia Gormon said police were awaiting autopsy results before laying any further charges.
"We need to do further inquiries particularly in relation to the manner and cause of death which comes form the post-mortem," she said.
"We haven't had the results of the post-mortem yet."
