Amirah Droudis found guilty of murdering Man Haron Monis' ex-wife

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Amirah Droudis found guilty of murdering Man Haron Monis' ex-wife

By Melanie Kembrey
Updated

The partner of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis has been found guilty of the murder of his former wife, who was stabbed 18 times, doused in fuel and set on fire in a western Sydney apartment block.

Delivering his verdict in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday, Justice Peter Johnson said Amirah Droudis, 37, was motivated by a desire to form a family unit with Monis when she stabbed the 30-year-old to death and set her body on fire during a frenzied attack in 2013.

Droudis, who was in a relationship with Monis for several years, pleaded not guilty to the murder, claiming she was at her parents' home at Belmore the time.

Justice Johnson said Monis orchestrated the murder of his former wife and "took advantage" of Droudis who was "enthralled by him" and had "adopted uncritically" his view of the world.

Amirah Droudis, seen during a previous court appearance, has been convicted of murdering Man Haron Monis' ex-wife.

Amirah Droudis, seen during a previous court appearance, has been convicted of murdering Man Haron Monis' ex-wife. Credit: AAP

He said Droudis was "greatly influenced" by Monis' extreme political and religious views, which she had adopted after meeting him, and carried out the killing at his bidding when she was at the "closest and most intense level of her relationship" with him.

"This was no cold-blooded murder," he said.

"This was a hot-bloodied and frenzied murder by an enraged female attacker."

Justice Johnson said witnesses who sought to provide an alibi for Droudis were "unreliable" and "quite unconvincing".

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Guilty: Amirah Droudis

Guilty: Amirah DroudisCredit: Channel Nine

The Crown and defence were in agreement that Monis masterminded the killing of his ex-wife, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and that the murderer was a woman.

The self-styled Muslim cleric had approached members of different chapters of the Rebels bikie gang, trying to solicit a hit on her.

He also manufactured an elaborate alibi for himself on the day of the murder, including filming himself and clock faces, intentionally crashing his car near a police station and insisting that he be taken to hospital although he had not suffered any genuine injury.

The trial heard that Monis had taken out flood and fire insurance on his third-storey apartment less than a fortnight before the murder occurred because he expected there would soon be a fire at his property.

Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi, QC, argued that Monis was willing to jettison his girlfriend and "brainwashed" her to carry out the murder.

A key part of the case against Droudis was evidence that the Crown said showed she was "ready, willing and able" to carry out whatever Monis asked of her.

That included filming extremist videos for Monis' website or Youtube - in which she praised Osama Bin Laden, celebrated the Holocaust, 9/11 and Bali bombings - sending letters to the family of Australian soldiers who had died in combat and participating in bizarre protests outside the Sunrise studio in Martin Place.

The Crown alleged that, in the weeks and months after the killing, Monis and Droudis were aware they were under surveillance and they would deliberately put comments about their innocence "on the record".

Senior Public Defender Mark Ierace, SC, argued that there was no forensic evidence that linked Droudis to the murder scene and that police could not rule out bikie involvement in the killing.

Mr Ierace said Monis could have taken out the insurance coverage because he "must have needed to pay a significant sum of money for the killing".

The defence also highlighted that Droudis had not been identified in a photographic line-up by any of the witnesses who saw the attacker in daylight, and she had never confessed to the crime despite seven months of surveillance.

Mr Ierace said that eyewitness accounts that Monis' ex-wife screamed "I have children" as she was being stabbed suggested she thought she was being attacked by someone who did not know her.

Monis was charged with being an accessory before and after the fact to murder but was shot dead during the Lindt cafe siege in 2014.

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