Overview
- Justice Desmond Fagan imposed a maximum 24-year term with an 18-year non-parole period, making Zayat eligible for parole in 2043.
- The court found Dokhotaru died from a brain bleed caused by blunt-force head trauma after Zayat inflicted three significant head injuries.
- Dokhotaru’s 000 call ended after 89 seconds when her phone was thrown from her balcony, with CCTV capturing a flash from the unit.
- Zayat took tens of thousands of dollars kept in a shoebox, fled, left her body for about 20 hours, and later told authorities she had been depressed and taking pills.
- An apprehended violence order did not stop his access, and the judge rejected defence claims of an accident or substance-related death, noting drugs were present only at low levels.