A man has admitted to the murder of his unarmed wife, whom he fatally stabbed before alerting emergency services.
Chris Hooper, the attorney representing Tumaliuan, informed the court that the couple had been living separately prior to the incident, although Tumaliuan continued frequent visits to their shared residence.
On the fateful day, Tumaliuan accessed the house using a key with the intention of confronting his wife about financial issues, Hooper explained on Friday.
The tragic event was partially recorded by CCTV, capturing the victim’s desperate cries as she fled to the backyard. However, the footage fell silent just 10 seconds later.
Hooper acknowledged that Tumaliuan admitted his wife was defenseless at the time, while he was armed with a knife.
“There is no blame directed towards her whatsoever,” he stated.
“She was defenceless and there were multiple stab wounds.”
But he said Tumaliuan had not visited the house with murderous intent as he was initially unarmed.
“Circumstances occurred off-camera … where his intention was not to kill, but to cause really serious injury, that’s his position,” Hooper said.
Tumaliuan called triple zero for assistance three times, the court was told.
Prosecutor Nadia Kaddeche said an assault occurred inside the home before the victim ran outside and she could be heard saying she had been hurt.
“There is no desisting from when she goes outside and it (the assault) continues not on camera, around the side of the house,” Kaddeche said.
Justice Amanda Fox indicated to Tumaliuan she would sentence him to up to 26 years behind bars if he pleaded guilty to murder.
He would have to serve 20 years of that sentence before becoming eligible for parole, she said.
Tumaliuan’s sentence will be formally decided following pre-sentence hearings later in the year.
He appeared distressed after hearing the sentence and refused to stand as Justice Fox exited the courtroom on Friday.
However, after discussing the matter with his lawyer, Tumaliuan accepted the sentence indication as he pleaded guilty to one count of murder today.
“Guilty your honour,” he said, as he stood in the court dock.
Tumaliuan’s trial, which was set to begin in early February, was vacated.
He was taken back to prison and will return to court on March 13 for a pre-sentence hearing.
