An irate husband who fatally stabbed his wife after relocating from New Zealand with their children has been convicted of murder.
The Melbourne Supreme Court found 44-year-old Rimoni Muliaga guilty following the September 2023 incident where he attacked his wife, Lise.
Lise, a 37-year-old mother of five, suffered four stab wounds to her chest after a heated dispute with her husband in the backyard of their Melton South home.
According to the trial, Muliaga acted on the misguided belief that his wife was having an affair with his brother, shortly after the family had moved in together.
The family had transitioned from New Zealand to Melbourne in July 2023.
Muliaga’s defense team argued that he lacked the intention to kill, citing his intellectual disability and depressive disorder as factors that impaired his judgment.
Defence barrister Michael McGrath urged the jury to find him guilty of the alternative charge of manslaughter rather than murder, as it was “the correct charge”.
But prosecutor Patrick Bourke SC said he was “angry at his wife” due to his belief she was being unfaithful to him and that showed he intended to stab her four times.
Fourteen jurors were whittled down to 12 who deliberated for four days before finding Muliaga guilty of murder.
He will face a pre-sentence hearing in February.
