Australian jailed for daughter’s murder

An Adelaide man who stabbed his daughter to death in a fit of rage has been sentenced to life in prison in Australia.

Twenty-year-old Sabrina Lekaj’s body was found in a car near her family home in South Australia in July.

Her father, Petrit Lekaj, 49, confronted his daughter in her car over her partying and drug use before stabbing her eight times. Less than a month after her body was found he pleaded guilty and admitted to killing her.

He was sentenced to the minimum 20-year non-parole period.

Sentencing him in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Trish Kelly said his reaction was “ironic” given he had multiple drug convictions and had previously spent more than four years in jail for heroin trafficking.

“The bond between a parent and a child is ordinarily fundamental,” she said.

“The crime of filicide involves such a catastrophic breach of that bond that it is difficult for anyone to fathom how you could have done it.”

Lekaj’s guilty plea meant he was entitled to a substantial discount on his jail term. Murder convictions in South Australia carry a mandatory sentence of life in jail with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.

At her funeral in August, Sabrina’s younger brother, Pyrrhus, spoke of her sweet and loving nature.

“She was very loving and caring in everything that she did and I will not forget her.”

Her mother Romina told the service she wanted to remember all the good days.

“There will never be a goodbye. There will be only until we meet again my darling daughter. I’ll always carry you in my heart.”

Source: AAP