Policewoman who was last to see 20-year-old girl alive before she was brutally stabbed by her father is so traumatised by murder she is unable to return to active duty
- Cop says she feels responsible for woman’s death
- The officer was the last person to see Petrik Lekaj, 20
- The young woman was murdered by her father in 2019
A police officer who was the last person to see a young woman alive before she was killed by her father has told a tribunal she feels responsible for her death.
Convicted drug trafficker Petrit Lekaj, now 51, strangled and stabbed Sabrina Lekaj, 20, eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019.
The South Australian policewoman, who had almost two decades of experience in the force, suffered a psychiatric injury after she was informed by colleagues Sabrina had been killed hours after she spent time with the young woman.
The officer had spent time with Sabrina in hospital while the young woman was being tested for alcohol and drugs after a minor crash.
In a judgement handed down this week, SA Employment Tribunal auxiliary deputy president Magistrate Jodie Carrel stated the officer’s injury occurred as a direct result of Sabrina’s murder.
The officer who was the last person to see 20-year-old Sabrina Lekaj (pictured) alive has told a tribunal she feels responsible for her death
The cop was investigating a minor car crash on July 21, 2019, where the driver was suspected to be driving under influence of drugs or alcohol.
Investigations led the officer to Sabrina’s home where she resided with her parents and brother.
The cop spoke to Sabrina and her parents Petrit and Romina before taking the young woman to hospital for a blood test.
She stayed with Sabrina for close to four hours before calling her parents to take her home.
The officer returned to her station, lodged the blood samples, completed her shift and left.
Sabrina was taken home by her parents and in the early hours of July 22, was stabbed by her father in a fit of rage.
Lekaj strangled and stabbed Sabrina eight times in her Mercedes-Benz on their way to Hungry Jack’s near the family home in Kidman Park.
A colleague investigating the murder rang the officer later that day and told her Sabrina had been ‘brutally murdered’.
‘(The officer) deposed that she lost it, was unable to stop crying and was very upset,’ Ms Carrel ruled.
Petrit Lekaj (left) strangled and stabbed daughter Sabrina (right) in a fit of rage
The convicted drug trafficker strangled and stabbed his daughter Sabrina eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019
A detective investigating the murder went to the police station where the officer worked to check on her wellbeing and found her crying.
‘He was shocked to see (the officer) so upset, because he had not seen that much emotion for her in relation to a case before,’ Ms Carrel stated.
When the officer went home that day, she was unable to return to work for a year and was ultimately granted compensation until 2022, when she returned to work in a limited capacity.
The tribunal found the officer would never be able to return to active duty and the officer had applied for income compensation to foot the difference between her previous role and her new position.
The South Australian police officer had spent time with Sabrina (pictured) in hospital on July 21 2019, hours before the young woman was killed
SA Police and the Department of Treasury and Finance denied the application, with the officer appealing to the Tribunal.
Ms Carrel ultimately ruled that the causal connection between Sabrina’s death and the psychiatric injury was close enough, finding that compensation was the appropriate course of action.
Petrit Lekaj was given a life sentence with the mandatory minimum 20-year non-parole period in 2020.
Convicted drug trafficker Petrit Lekaj (pictured), 49, strangled and stabbed his daughter Sabrina eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019
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