Addict's bizarre act in senseless murder
A Central Coast addict who savagely beat a man to death with a chain, punches and kicks, before ordering that a woman attempt to revive him by putting methamphetamine in his anus, has been sentenced to more than 20 years in jail.
Daniel Paul Hasapis learnt his fate in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon for the fatal beating of Sean Froggatt inside a notorious housing commission unit block in Wyong in January 2023.
The court was told that Mr Froggatt was summoned to unit 1 of the Levitt St complex by Hasapis, who was whipped into an angry frenzy and beat him to death inside a spare bedroom in front of two women.
The court was told Hasapis' motive was unclear, making claims about missing ice and possessions as well as wanting to know who had been in his unit earlier that day.
Hasapis admitted to his role in senselessly beating Mr Froggatt to death. He was discovered by police inside a bathtub covered in blankets and bed linen. Daniel Hasapis has been jailed for 26 years. Supplied Credit: Supplied
Hasapis attempted to argue that he only intended to injure Mr Froggatt – who weighed 63kg and did not put up a fight during the assault – and denied intending to inflict grievous bodily harm.
This is despite a post-mortem discovering that Mr Froggatt's body had 71 injuries after he was whipped by a gold necklace chain as well as being punched and kicked in the head and neck, body and back.
Hasapis pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder. However, after a judge-alone trial before Justice Natalie Adams earlier this year, he was found guilty of murder.
The court was told that on the afternoon of January 27, Mr Froggatt, who lived in unit 8 of the Levitt St complex, went to unit 1 to supply cannabis to two women, Hasapis' estranged partner Bonnie Cullen and Mariana Taitoko.
At the time, Hasapis was in Sydney buying ice, and when he returned he flew into a rage and complained that someone had stolen some of his property and wanted to know who had been in the unit. Sean Froggatt's body had 71 injuries. Supplied Credit: Supplied
Mr Froggatt was summoned to the unit where he was bashed to death inside a spare bedroom and questioned about missing items.
The lengthy assault was described by Justice Adams as an act of 'gratuitous cruelty' against a vulnerable man.
The court was told that the assault only stopped when Mr Froggatt said: 'The Yugoslavs set you up.'
Hasapis and Cullen left the room and when they returned 15 minutes later, Mr Froggatt was no longer breathing.
The court was told that Hasapis bizarrely ordered Ms Taitoko to revive him by giving him ice, including by putting it into his anus.
'The offender told Ms Taitoko to bring the deceased back to life,' Justice Adams said.
'She tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. It did not work.
'The offender told her to put ice in his bum and breathe it into his mouth.
'She did this but this did not work either.'
Mr Froggatt's body was then wrapped in a sheet and placed in the bathtub.
There was blood on the walls from the assault that Hasapis ordered Cullen and Ms Taitoko to clean.
The following day, police received a triple-0 call about the injuries suffered by Ms Taitoko, who was also assaulted by Hasapis on a previous occasion and during Mr Froggatt's assault.
When they searched Hasapis' unit, they found Mr Froggatt's body. Bonnie Cullen pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder. Supplied Credit: Supplied
Cullen was charged with and pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to the murder and was released after serving a two-year and three-day non-parole period.
Justice Adams said Mr Froggatt's final moments must have been 'terrifying' and 'filled with hopelessness'.
The court was told that Mr Froggatt did not fight back and he was heard crying during the assault.
'The fatal assault lasted for at least 30 minutes … that is a lengthy period of time over which to sustain injuries,' Justice Adams said in her sentencing remarks on Thursday.
'The repeated blows increased the dangerousness of the offender's actions.
'The prolonged nature of the assault provided the offender with opportunities to reconsider his actions at any time during the deceased's final moments. He did not do so.'
Hasapis was sentenced to a maximum of 26 years in jail.
He will be first eligible for release in January 2041 after serving an 18-year non-parole period.
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