Final text of Sydney woman stabbed to death read to court in first day of murder trial
Anthony Eriksen is accused of stabbing his long-term de facto partner Lisa Fenwick to death on April 9, 2023 at their unit in Sydney's south.
The Crown prosecutor said Ms Fenwick's body was found in their Mascot bedroom with 18 stab wounds.
Ms Fenwick was already dead when paramedics arrived at 6:15 pm, just 11 minutes after a triple-0 call made by Mr Eriksen.
Police allegedly found Mr Eriksen with her blood on his wrist and right foot.
The Crown's evidence includes CCTV footage proving they were the only two people in the unit at the time of death, and recordings of the triple-0 call made by Mr Eriksen.
Mr Eriksen allegedly said to the emergency operator "we've got in an argument" and "I put a knife in her".
When asked by the operator where he stabbed her, he allegedly said "just the upper the chest".
"You've done more than one wound?", the emergency operator asked.
"I don't know, three or something, I don't know," he allegedly replied.
The Crown said an autopsy on Ms Fenwick's body revealed there were at least four sharp defects to the heart and four sharp defects to the aorta.
The court also heard Ms Fenwick had three sharp defects to the right lung — one of the wounds going completely through the lung — a cut to the oesophagus, three sharp force injuries to the liver and damage to the main vein to and from the heart.
Mr Eriksen, who maintains his innocence, is exercising his right to represent himself in the trial before the Supreme Court.
The 62-year-old chose not to say a word to the jury on Tuesday.
The former NSW government employee appeared in court in green prison clothing.
Justice Andrew Coleman advised the jury to not "draw any adverse inference" from his appearance, his standing in court or the fact he declined to speak.
The trial is expected to last up to 20 days and the Crown will present 50 witnesses including police officers, forensic specialists, Ms Fenwick's mental health counsellor, and her family and friends who will testify she was afraid of Mr Eriksen.
The Crown revealed a text sent from Ms Fenwick to her friend Michelle Roberts.
"If anything happens to me, believe I am of sound mind. I am fearful of Tony," the message read.
"That is why I am telling you this, I just need to have a record if something happens to me."
Another text message to her friend Robert Srjararian read: "Please keep in touch Rob as Tony is acting quite strangely after I told him about my interview today….I don't feel safe with him."
The Crown told the jury it believes Ms Fenwick and Mr Eriksen's relationship had been deteriorating for years due to his unemployment and relying on her for financial support.
It will allege when Ms Fenwick was made redundant in December 2022, it put further financial stress on her and the relationship.
Evidence from her counsellor and a recorded call made by Mr Eriksen to MensLine Australia will show Ms Fenwick wanted him to move out and was actively looking for another place to live.
Hours before the alleged murder, Ms Fenwick sent a text to Mr Eriksen with a link to a posting on a house sharing website that read, "Not sure if they will want a 60-year-old man though".
The trial will resume on Wednesday where the first witness will give evidence.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Teenage boy in custody after alleged Darwin Show stabbing of another teenage boy
A teenager is in serious condition after he was stabbed at the Royal Darwin Show, with the alleged offender in custody, police say. The Northern Territory Police said the boy, aged 15, was assaulted with a knife by another 15-year-old boy at the showgrounds after an altercation. A spokesperson said the alleged offender fled the scene after the incident took place at around 8.20pm on Saturday. "Police and St John Ambulance attended, and the victim was conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital in a serious condition," the spokesperson said. Police later posted a Facebook update at 10pm, saying the alleged offender was located. "The 15-year-old alleged offender has been arrested by police and is currently in custody," the statement said. Police are urging anyone with information to contact 131 444 and quote reference number P25199834.
Daily Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Daily Telegraph
Eugene Gligor police interview surfaces
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. The display put on by a cold-case killer confronted with evidence of his horrific crimes is perhaps best described as 'squirming'. Eugene Gligor's police interview, 23 years after he murdered Leslie Preer in her home in the US state of Maryland, resurfaced this week. First published by The Washington Post, 24-minute interrogation shows Gligor pretending to be shocked when told his DNA was found at scene of the grisly murder. In the recording, filmed in June last year, Gligor is told: 'Well honey, your DNA was in the crime scene.' Having escaped scrutiny for the murder that took place in 2001, Gligor replies: 'I don't remember. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.' He says he is 'confused' and 'at a loss', adding 'I don't have any recollection of being involved with any of this'. Sat on a metal chair across from two detectives from the Montgomery County Police Department, Gligor tries to plead his case. His attempt at feigning ignorace includes fake tears. But police are having none of it. 'If somebody was not involved it would be an adamant, (saying) 'I didn't do it.',' one of the officers tells the then-44-year-old. 'Oh, I didn't do it,' he says. 'I definitely didn't do it.' 'There's no tears coming out of your face,' an officers tells him. 'I'm very dry right now,' Gligor says. 'You want me to drink water so I can tear? What are you trying to say?' 'I'm just trying to say that this seems a little put on,' an officer tells him. The police interview was the culmination of years of work including a breakthrough in the way DNA was analysed. Montgomery County Police Department has released footage of Eugene Grigor's police interview. DNA breakthrough that solved cold-case In the days after the murder, police took as much evidence as they could, which included processing the scene for fingerprints, swabbing suspected blood samples, taking photographs, and vacuuming the foyer area for hairs and other artefacts. DNA evidence was also able to be extracted from underneath Leslie's fingernails — a sign she tried to fight off her attacker — and was matched an unknown male suspect. However, due to limited technology at the time, they were unable to match it to anyone. Detectives spoke to a handful of potential suspects, including Leslie's husband, Carl. However, DNA soon ruled him out. With no other leads, the case went cold. Despite the odds, Lauren said she had always held out hope that one day her mum's killer would be brought to justice. Finally, earlier this month, this dream seemed like it might become a reality. Back in 2022, hard-working cold case investigators sought to use genetic genealogical analysis in a bid to close in on who murdered Leslie. The technique is relatively new, and involves taking an unknown suspect's DNA from a crime scene and comparing it to millions of DNA samples that customers have submitted to ancestor research companies. This can help detectives potentially track down family-tree connections to the perpetrator's DNA, hugely narrowing down the suspect pool. In this case, genetic genealogical analysis was able to yield one common surname: Gligor. While it did not mean much at first, this clue would end up the vital clue needed to find Leslie's alleged murderer. On June 4, 2024, police uncovered an old tip off submitted back in 2002 about someone called Eugene Gligor. The caller, who is understood to be a neighbour, had been suspicious of him and decided to share their thoughts with detectives. While it did not amount to much at the time, it ended up being the smoking gun that lead police to Eugene. Eugene Grigo pleaded guilty to murder in May and faces 30 years in prison. The only thing detectives needed was a sample of his DNA to see if it was a match for that left at the crime scene. And so the hunt began. Plain-clothed detectives tracked him down at Dulles International Airport, where they waited and watched as he finished off a bottle of water and disposed of the plastic bottle in a nearby bin. After he walked away, they pounced. With the fresh evidence in their clutches, forensic labs were able to extract his DNA from saliva left on the bottle. It was a match. Gligor was charged with first-degree murder. The crime that tore a family apart Leslie Preer worked at a popular advertising firm in Chevy Chase called Specialities Inc., and was a beloved employee, known for her dedication and punctuality. So when she failed to show up for her shift, her colleagues knew something just wasn't right. Leslie's boss called her husband and the pair went to her home just before midday. There they found blood spattered and smeared on the walls before discovering her body in an upstairs bathroom. She was face down inside the shower and it was clear her death had been horrific. She had multiple lacerations to her head and bruising to her neck which indicated strangulation. It would be 23 years of waiting for Leslie's family. In May, Gligor pleaded guilty to murder. 'It doesn't bring Leslie back, but now they know who did it to her,' Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy said at a press conference. 'There's no such thing as closure, but I'm proud of what we do together, and I'm proud of our continuing search to find creative ways to make people in this community safer.' He faces up to 30 years in prison. — with Jasmine Kazlauskas Originally published as Footage emerges of cold-case killer Eugene Gligor's police interview
SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Four Aussie residents, including two citizens, now facing Hong Kong arrest warrants, bounties
Four Australian residents are now facing overseas arrest warrants issued by Hong Kong's national security police, after a fresh announcement concerning support for a pro-democracy party in the state's parliament. Australian citizen Chongyi Feng and resident Wong Sau-Wo are accused of having launched a referendum or run as candidates in the unofficial "Hong Kong Parliament" group. They are among 19 activists who are are accused of organising or participating in the group that authorities in the Asian financial hub say aims at achieving self-determination and drafting a "Hong Kong constitution". Authorities say the group aims to subvert state power, under the law Beijing imposed in 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests in 2019. There is a bounty of at least HK$200,000 ($38,807) for each of the activists. Yam, who is a legal scholar, and Hui, a former Hong Kong Democracy party MP, were among eight overseas-based activists who authorities accused of national security offences, including foreign collusion and incitement to secession. At the time, the police also offered rewards of HK$1 million ($194,000) for information leading to each possible arrest. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has reacted to the announcement, saying "Australia strongly objects to Hong Kong authorities issuing arrest warrants for pro-democracy advocates in Australia." "Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy," she wrote on social media platform X on Saturday "We have consistently expressed our strong objections to China and Hong Kong on the broad and extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's national security legislation, and we will continue to do so." SBS News has reached out to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment. Hong Kong's national security law Feng has told SBS News that, while he feels safe being in Australia, the federal government must remain cautious in its interactions with China. "So we need to be fully aware of the nature of (China's) authoritarian regime when dealing with Xi Jinping or the People's Republic of China." He says many of his friends in Hong Kong have been jailed due to the state's national security law, which makes perceived political subversion a serious offence. Critics of the national security law say authorities are using it to stifle dissent. Chinese and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly said the law was vital to restore stability after the city was rocked for months by sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests in 2019. "I feel quite sad that the autonomy of Hong Kong, of basic human rights in Hong Kong, and democracy in Hong Kong have all been destroyed by the implementation of the national security law," Feng said. Police reiterated that national security offences were serious crimes with extraterritorial reach and urged the wanted individuals to return to Hong Kong and turn themselves in. "If offenders voluntarily give up continuing to violate the crime, turn themselves in, truthfully confess their crimes, or provide key information that helps solve other cases, they may be eligible for reduced punishment," they said in a statement. Police also warned that aiding, abetting, or funding others to participate in the "Hong Kong Parliament" could be a criminal offence. Additional reporting by Wing Kuang and the Reuters News Agency.
