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A man who strangled his former partner in a hotel room made a feeble effort to revive her before fleeing the scene.
The court, presided over by Justice Lincoln Crowley, learned that Benedito had suffered from blunt force trauma, ultimately succumbing to a brain injury caused by manual strangulation.
“She sustained significant bruising on her arms, forearms, shoulders, and fingers, indicative of defensive wounds,” stated crown prosecutor Nathan Crane.
“This provides no justification for his actions,” Crane emphasized.
“He attempted to flee a short distance before being apprehended,” Crane added.
Crane said Marsh had pleaded guilty to murder on the basis that he assaulted Benedito with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm.
Benedito brought warmth, energy and care to any space she entered, her cousin Josiah Benedito-Taotafa said in a victim impact statement.
“She was humorous, totally confident in her values and deeply compassionate,” he said.
Benedito’s family had faced long hours moving between hope and dread as she lay in intensive care for three days before the decision to turn off life support.
“My family has seen their faith shaken, their health decline and a collective struggle to navigate grief, shock and trauma,” Benedito-Taotafa said.
Benedito’s sister said she never thought she would have to bury her younger sibling.
“Her greatest achievement was being a mum, and he took that from her,” the sister said.
Benedito’s aunty Maria, who had helped raise her as a child, said she would always be heartbroken.
“Seeing her black and blue with tubes keeping her alive broke our family into pieces,” she said.
Marsh had daily regrets and self-hatred for taking what could not be replaced, he wrote in a letter to Benedito’s family.
“The unfairness of my actions are too severe to ask for forgiveness,” Marsh said.
Marsh’s barrister said his guilty pleas had saved the family the trauma of a trial and he was genuinely remorseful.
Justice Crowley told Marsh he had dragged Benedito back to their hotel room and made a “pathetic” attempt to revive her before his cowardly escape when paramedics arrived.
“You used substantial force to do so. You smothered her at the same time you strangled her,” he said.
“All this happened because you became angry … you sought to control her life.”
He will be eligible for parole in under 16 years due to time already served in custody.
Support is available by 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732, Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
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