The family of a murdered mother-of-three who was allegedly killed by her new housemate have broken their silence as they struggle to sort out their financial affairs.
Annette Kiss, 53, was allegedly killed when her new housemate Benjamin Art, 42, attacked her with a sword, a butcher knife and a hammer last Thursday at their shared Russell Lea home in Sydney’s west.
When police arrived, they reportedly found Art lying over Ms Kiss’s body with the sword in a heartbreaking scene that has devastated first responders.
Days after the horrific attack, her friend Sharon Hacker launched a fundraising campaign for Ms Kiss’s three adult children: Six, Samuel and Hayely.
On Wednesday, eldest son Six thanked the community for helping them through their grief as they now face costly legal and funeral expenses.
“As the days go by, reality takes over more and more and we miss her every day,” he wrote.
“Unfortunately, being so young, he never completed a will so we now have to resort to the courts to resolve the matter, which will take quite a while and lawyers are not cheap.”
The fundraiser was initially intended to raise $10,000 to cover unexpected expenses incurred by the family, but they have since increased fundraising efforts to $20,000.
Annette Kiss pictured with her adult children Six (left), Samuel (right) and Hayley (center back)
Annette Kiss, 55, was allegedly murdered by her new housemate on Thursday morning.
“As a sole proprietor, the loss of income and business is starting to become a big issue as we take time to deal with the grief and handle our affairs,” Six explained.
“I have raised the target here to help us resolve the legal issues and help cover the loss of income in the coming period.”
Police allege housemate Art ran into Russell Lea’s home last Thursday morning brandishing weapons, yelled at his four housemates to sit down and began showing Ms Kiss text messages from an unknown sender on his phone.
“You’re trying to set me up, who have you hired to try to kill me? Who is the girl that’s texting me?” he allegedly yelled, according to court documents.
“You’re trying to set me up or get me killed, now you’re trying to kill me.”
Art allegedly held Ms Kiss by the neck before grabbing the knife, while another housemate used a chair to try to stop the alleged attack before fleeing and calling police.
Detectives later said it was one of the worst crime scenes they had ever encountered.
On Friday, a neighbour told Daily Mail Australia that the surviving roommates were “too traumatised” to return to the house and collect their belongings.
Benjamin Art (pictured) has been charged with the alleged violent murder of his housemate.
Russell Lea’s home is shown where Annette Kiss was allegedly murdered
Annette (center) pictured with her daughter Hayley and son Samuel
The fundraiser has already raised $10,630 of $20,000 raised
On Friday, Art was represented by lawyer Javid Faiz at Parramatta Bail Court. He did not apply for bail but was formally refused bail.
“My client understands the seriousness of the matter,” Faiz said outside court, according to the Daily Telegraph.
“He has ordered me not to submit any request for release today.”
His case will return to Burwood Local Court on August 22.
Superintendent Christine McDonald said Thursday that Art had no history of violence and said he was not in a romantic relationship with Ms. Kiss.
