In 2011, Simon Gittany murdered his fiancée Lisa Harnum by throwing her off the balcony of their 15th-floor Sydney apartment.
Today, he was sentenced to 26 years- with a non-parole period of 18 years- for the crime, which he carried out in a “fit of rage” when Ms Harnum said she was leaving him.
Supreme Court Justice Lucy McCallum, who presided over his judge-only trial, announced the sentence at 11:05am, describing Gittany as “controlling, dominant and at times abusive”.
Justice McCallum said there was “no doubt” that he intended to kill Ms Harnum when he threw her off the balcony.
“Ms Harnum must have been in a state of complete terror in the moments before her death,” she said, adding that there were no prospects for rehabilitation for Gittany.
Defence counsel are expected to appeal the conviction.
Rachelle Louise continues to defend Gittany
Gittany’s new girlfriend, Rachelle Louise, has been a vocal supporter of Gittany’s throughout the trial and sentencing. However, it’s been reported that she initially did not attend the sentencing this morning apparently because of deal with Channel 7 that requires her to hold her silence.
Top Comments
Domestic abuse is a huge issue in Australia and quite frankly its being ignored. Similar things are happening everyday, some women are lucky to escape while others not so lucky and the sad part is that the majority of these "men" get away with it. It is a societal change that needs to occur - men and women need to step up if they see a woman being abused in public and not just watch or walk away.. if you're too scared to interfere directly then call the police and report it, at least some sort of action is being taken. As a domestic abuse survivor, I was abused many times in public - not one person intervened and not one person asked if I was okay which is I find to be disgusting and sad. If it were your daughter, sister, mother or friend who was being abused - would you want someone to interfere? Simon Gittany will forever be paying the price for what he did and I pray to God that he never escapes the wraths of karma. He is worthless.
What a deranged lunatic he definitely got what was coming. It's only a matter of time before Rachelle Louise decides....."what on earth was I thinking? RIP Lisa.
There's been some thinking involved?