The last moments of a Melbourne father who was shot in the head, allegedly at the urging of her ex-husband’s new husband, were broadcast during a murder trial in which he was heard telling his girlfriend that he did not worry before he was violently murdered.
Key points:
- Biannca Edmunds is on trial accused of ordering her husband to kill her ex-partner Michael Caposiena
- The jury was shown images of the crime scene after an attack that killed both Mr. Caposiena and the aggressor Glen Cassidy.
- Caposiena’s partner, Silvana Silva, told the court that Cassidy also tried to shoot her.
Biannca Edmunds will appear in the Supreme Court of Victoria where she pleaded not guilty to the murder of her ex-boyfriend, Michael Caposiena, in Westmeadows in 2016.
Mr. Caposiena was killed by Glen Cassidy, who was then married to Mrs. Edmunds, and also died after being stabbed during the attack.
At the time of the double killings, Mr Caposiena and the accused woman were going through a bitter custody battle and prosecutors told the court she “assisted or encouraged or directed” the murder of her former lover.
But Mrs. Edmunds maintains her innocence.
The court hears that the killer used a strange handshake
The jury reproduced graphic images of the crime scene showing the terrible consequences of the murders, including the bodies of the two men, and what appeared to be the barrel of a pistol in a rosemary pot.
Mr. Caposiena’s grieving girlfriend, Silvana Silva, witnessed the murders and has been cited as a witness today.
He told the jury in March 2016 he saw Mr Cassidy walking down his street in Westmeadows and recognized him from the custody hearings with his partner and the accused wife.
“I froze because I could remember him from court,” Ms. Silva said.
“I said, ‘Michael, Michael, this is Glen.’
“Then Michael said, no, it can’t be … you have to be paranoid.”
Prosecutors allege that Biannca Edmunds (left) helped orchestrate the murder, providing her husband Glen Cassidy (right) with a map and details of her ex-partner’s home. (Supplied)
Ms. Silva told the jury she urged her partner to call police, but he told her not to worry.
Shortly afterwards, Mr. Cassidy rang the bell, and Mr. Caposiena answered, armed with a knife to cut.
She told the court that Mr Caposiena opened the front door and heard him say, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do anything for you.”
Then he heard Mr. Cassidy ask for a handshake, causing Mr. Caposiena to open the security door.
“That’s when he grabbed Michael’s hand and then pushed him into the house,” he said.
“He grabbed his gun, pointing at Michael’s head and they were facing each other.”
The victim’s partner explains the couple’s final moments
The court learned that a fight broke out with Cassidy holding the gun in her left hand and Caposiena using her right hand to block it.
Then Mr. Cassidy pulled the trigger.
“He ran to the door and the only thing I could see was Michael losing his balance for a few seconds and then he just went to the ground,” said Ms. Silva, who then called outside to ask. help.
“That’s when he also pointed the gun at my head and pulled the trigger.”
But the gun did not fire, he told the jury.
“It was like a snap,” Ms. Silva said.
“Then he started attacking me.”
The jury heard that Mr. Cassidy violently assaulted Mrs. Silva before the neighbors intervened, and she was able to go back inside and check on Mr. Caposiena.
“I just remember that voice saying to me,‘ Come in, come in because I don’t know if we’ll be able to stand it, ’” he said.
“So I went in and rushed to Michael.”
She cried as she told the court she could not save her partner.
“I tried everything I could to keep him alive. I tried to do CPR. I tried everything. I yelled and yelled for help,” he said.
Ms. Silva spent four days in hospital after the assault.
The trial continues.
Posted 9 hours 9 hours agoDec. May 25, 2022 at 7:58 am, updated 9 hours agoWednesday, May 25, 2022 at 8:08 AM