A Sydney cleaner who broke into her 92-year-old client’s home before stabbing and brutally hitting her sent a text message to her husband moments after the attack saying “Mary”.
Hanny Papanicolaou will spend the next 15 years behind bars after a NSW Supreme Court jury found her guilty of the murder of Marjorie Welsh.
The 38-year-old had been working as Mrs Welsh’s housekeeper for about a year before “fiercely” breaking into the old woman’s house and hitting her with her own staffs in a robbery that went wrong. .
Moments after leaving Mrs. Welsh to die of blood on the floor of her home, Papanicolaou sent her husband a shower of text messages, including “Please, I’m going to die, I think it’s better for me.” .
Another text read: “You will never believe me again. You will never believe me forever. You better die. Please take care of the children, I am sick of this life. I’m sorry, deep in my heart. “
Hanny Papanicolaou camera icon. Credit: supplied
Papanicolaou faced NSW Supreme Court on Friday for sentencing after she was tried on murder charges earlier this year. He argued that he suffered a mental abnormality that caused a blackout during the bloody attack on Mrs Welsh’s Ashbury house in January 2019.
He had previously pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of manslaughter.
After only five hours of deliberation, the jury rejected Papanicolaou’s version of the facts and returned a guilty verdict.
In his remarks, Supreme Court Judge Robertson Wright described the murder as a “ferocity” and “great human tragedy” for Mrs Welsh’s family.
THE DEAR VICTIM
In a crime that struck Sydney, Mrs Welsh was found lying face down in a pool of blood with stab wounds to her abdomen and pieces of crockery in her skull.
The court was told that Papanicolaou had been working as a housekeeper for the 92-year-old woman for about a year after she moved into the Ashbury house.
“Mrs Welsh was very sociable and liked to go out to dinner, she and her daughter often ate together,” Judge Wright told the court.
Camera icon Marjorie Welsh was murdered by her cleaner Hanny Papanicolaou at her Ashbury home in January 2019. Source: 7News. Credit: Channel 7
Judge Wright told the court that Mrs Welsh and Mrs Papanicolaou had a “close relationship”, and the 92-year-old woman revealed that she had sold her previous property for $ 8 million, to the surprise of the clean-up.
The court said Papanicolaou was an “irregular gambler” and would spend hundreds of dollars simultaneously playing poker machines at RSL clubs.
‘FEROC’ MURDER
On the morning of January 2, the 38-year-old was left with only a few dollars in her bank account after spending just 15 minutes losing $ 430 at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL stores.
“At around 10.06am, he left the club, got in his car and drove a short distance to the park behind Mrs Welsh’s house,” Judge Wright told the court.
“After parking, Papanicolaou crossed the park and climbed the back fence of Mrs Welsh’s property and entered the backyard.”
Mrs. Welsh was surprised to find the mother of two children at home before being attacked with her own sticks and pottery.
“The offender also hit Mrs Welsh on the head, face, chest and arm with decorative ceramic bowls or plates that had been displayed on Mrs Welsh’s kitchen shelves,” Justice Wrote said.
“Papanicolaou also stabbed Mrs Welsh in the lower chest and abdomen about six times with a knife from the drawer of kitchen cutlery during part of the attack.”
Camera IconCleaner Hanny Papanicolaou has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of Marjorie Welsh. Credit provided: provided
Ms Welsh managed to activate a medical alert collar and raise the alarm although Papanicolaou turned off the power and disconnected the alarm system before returning to her car.
Neighbors and emergency services rushed to the aid of the 92-year-old woman, who was taken to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery.
The court was told that Papanicolaou removed the cordless phone, his shirt and the bloody knife in a public container in Canterbury.
Mrs. Welsh died six weeks later in hospital, but not before giving two detailed police interviews where she called her attacker “Hanny the Cleaner.”
15 YEARS IN PRISON
Judge Wright said the murder was “unplanned and impulsive” and Papanicolaou entered the house with the “intent to rob” Mrs Welsh.
He told the court that Papanicolaou did not want to “excuse his actions” and expressed his remorse during the trial.
During the trial, when asked why he attacked Mrs Welsh, Papanicolaou said: “I don’t know, I wonder every day.
“I am just sorry for her daughter, for her family. I wish I could pay it back. I wish everything never happened. I wish I could go back to that day, “he told the court during the trial.
Judge Wright told the court that Papanicolaou also expressed her remorse in a sworn statement, in which she described Ms Welsh as a “beautiful woman” who was always “very kind” to her.
Camera IconPapanicolaou had pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of manslaughter. Credit provided: provided
The court was told the attack had caused “widespread grief, damage and distress” to Mrs Welsh’s daughters and their families.
“She was a talented and creative woman who had achieved a lot and given a lot to others, she enjoyed life and she had a lot to live for,” Judge Wright told the court.
“Mrs Welsh ‘s death was a human and personal tragedy and should not be treated solely as the subject of a criminal trial.
“Her unnecessary death in such distressing circumstances has caused grief and sorrow for her family and everyone else involved.”
Papanicolaou was sentenced to 22 years in prison with a 15-year probation period, beginning on January 2, 2019.
He will be eligible for parole on January 1, 2034, and his parole will expire seven years later, in 2041.
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