A KILLER bodybuilder cried “crocodile tears” in court after brutally stabbing his girlfriend to death while his 10-year-old daughter tried to save her.
Sven Lindemann, 52, pleaded guilty to the horrific murder of Monique Lezsak in a “ferocious” six-knife attack.
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He appeared before the Victorian Supreme Court at a pre-sentence hearing on Friday and waited aloud in the dock as the chilling details were read.
Judge Elizabeth Hollingworth scolded the killer, demanding that he “stop the crocodile tears.”
“It’s not even remotely persuasive. It’s a little late to pretend he’s sorry.
“The evidence is completely contrary. “He still maintains that she ruined her life, he doesn’t accept that he killed her and ruined her own life,” she said.
Lezsak’s heroic 10-year-old daughter was injured when she tried to intervene and stop Lindemann from killing her mother.
Prosecutor Kristie Churchill said Lindemann attacked Lezsak with a knife shortly after 7.30am on May 30 last year.
The previous night the couple had argued after Lezsak ended the relationship after she fell for him and said she had feelings for another man she had met in Queensland.
That night she contacted several friends and told them that their argument had been “intense” and that she was “worried he would do something stupid.”
The couple had been together for five years after they formed a bond over their mutual passion for bodybuilding.
Lindemann had left his wife and children in South Australia to continue the relationship, the court was told.
Churchill said Lezsak’s daughter, whose pseudonym was Lily, ran into the bedroom and saw Lindemann stab her mother.
She told the court the knife broke, before the killer dragged Lezak into the kitchen, where he grabbed another knife and continued his attack.
“He continued to stab her while Lily stood between the offender and her mother,” he said.
The court heard Lily was able to disarm Lindemann twice and two knives were broken during Lindemann’s cruel outburst.
Lindemann used six knives in total to carry out his ruthless assault, and a medical examiner later found seven stab wounds and 10 cuts.
Lily called triple-0 saying that her mother’s boyfriend had killed her because she was breaking up with him.
“My heart is shattered,” he said.
Lindemann was found naked in the back of the house with “significant wounds to his chest and abdomen,” Churchill said.
“The police immediately try to stop the bleeding and the offender tells them that he does not want to be saved and to ‘let me go,'” he said.
Lindeman spent more than a week in the hospital before being taken into custody.
In jailhouse conversations with his parents, he blamed the attack on Lezak.
He was recorded saying: “She shouldn’t have started something with the other man.
“That’s why, that’s why it was like pouring gasoline on the fire.”
“That woman destroyed everything for me,” he added.
Lindemann’s lawyer, Lucinda Thies, asked Judge Hollingworth to take his early guilty plea, lack of criminal record and good prospects for rehabilitation into account during sentencing.
He maintained there was “little or no premeditation” before the attack and said some comments made by Lindemann showed remorse.
The court was told that forensic psychologist Dr Patrick Newton found she had problematic gender-based attitudes and that her steroid use may have increased the level of violence.
Judge Hollingworth, who adjourned the case for sentencing at a later date, told the court that Lindemann had committed the “terrible” act after a “seething” day.
“He was so angry that he dragged her around the house, grabbed six different knives and was able to break two of them in the process,” he said.
“He wouldn’t be deterred by a 10-year-old girl trying to stop him… He was out of control, he was ferocious and he was determined to kill her.”
Lindemann, from Adelaide, confesses to being a “gym addict”, according to his social networks.
The man is also the father of two children and had been dating Lezsak for several months before she was murdered, it was reported.
Lezsak’s death came just days after Lindemann posted on Instagram: “Don’t forget that you are going to die… and you don’t know when.”
The Instagram message about the death was on a list of “10 bitter truths” posted by Lindemann.
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How can you get help?
Women’s Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone close.
- Contact charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger call 999.
- Familiarize yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without talking on the phone, instead of dialing “55.”
- Always carry some money with you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try going to a lower-risk area of the house, for example, where there is an exit and access to a phone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where knives or other weapons are likely to be present. Avoid rooms where you could get trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you could get trapped in a closet or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open on weekdays and weekends. during the crisis: messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm and weekends from 10am to 6pm
You can also call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline free of charge 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247.