A Melbourne man had a brief but violent relationship with Maryam Hamka before murdering her and disposing of her body in bushland, sending her a series of threatening messages before her death, prosecutors allege.
Toby Loughnane is fighting a murder charge in the Supreme Court of Victoria after admitting the negligent homicide of Ms Hamka – a charge prosecutors say does not go far enough.
His attorney Daniel Sala said Tuesday that he would argue that Hamka succumbed to a drug overdose and not violence.
He urged the jury to consider the evidence impartially after hearing the prosecution’s accusations which he said likely stoked hatred of Loughnane.
Prosecutor Kristie Churchill alleged that Hamka had had a “relatively brief but violent and controlling relationship” with Loughnane before he murdered her at her Brighton home in April 2021.
In the months before Hamka’s death, Loughnane physically assaulted her and also sent her messages threatening to hurt and kill her, Churchill said.
The messages included, ‘I’m going to crack your skull,’ ‘I’m going to (jail) just to see you suffer, dog,’ ‘You’re dead,’ and ‘Wait until I put my hands on your dog.’ ‘, alleged the prosecutor.
Maryam Hamka (pictured) was allegedly murdered by a man with whom she had a brief and violent relationship.
Loughnane also chased Hamka in a car in 2021, following her to her family home and threatening her friends, Churchill said.
The last time her mother saw Hamka was on April 9, 2021, when Loughnane was yelling at her to get into a car before driving off with her alleged killer, the prosecutor said.
Hamka was seen the next day on CCTV at a Brunswick Woolworths before being last seen alive in a “confrontation” video filmed by Loughnane, in which she was half-naked and he mocked her, Churchill said.
A friend of Loughnane later saw Hamka dead in the fetal position in the shower of her Brighton home, the prosecutor alleged.
Maryam Hamka (left and right), 36, was last seen on CCTV leaving a Woolworth’s store on Albert Street, Brunswick, at 5.30pm on April 10, 2021 (left)
Churchill accused Loughnane of trying to cover up Hamka’s murder, alleging that he sent her several messages after her death, sought the help of a friend to buy a steam cleaner on Gumtree and disposed of her body in dense bush.
Police found a significant amount of cleaning supplies in Loughnane’s home days after Hamka’s death.
Almost two years later, in May 2023, they received information from Loughnane’s lawyers about the location of Hamka’s body, the prosecutor said.
Officers later found Ms Hamka’s bones in thick bush at Cape Schanck on the Mornington Peninsula.
Hamka’s ex-boyfriend Toby Loughnane (pictured) has been charged with her murder.
Sala said the defense would focus on three key pieces of evidence, including Hamka’s final video, Loughnane’s friend’s observations and the fact that both his client and Hamka were heavy drug users.
The jury would hear evidence about the drug GHB, the lawyer said.
“This is the world that these two people occupied in April 2021,” Sala said.
‘It can be quite disgusting. It brings out the worst in people.
The world of drug use was central to the case and Loughnane accepted responsibility for Hamka’s alleged fatal overdose, the lawyer said.
“What they haven’t heard (from the prosecution) is anyone saying, ‘this is how he died,'” Mr. Sala said.
The trial continues Wednesday.
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