EXCLUSIVE
A man found in a hotel room covered in blood with cuts to his arm near his dead partner has a history of AVOs being taken out against him, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Shirley So, 50, was found stabbed to death at the Pullman Hotel, in Penrith, in western Sydney about 1.10pm on Sunday.
Her on-and-off again partner Darren John Berry, 53, was airlifted to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, where he remains under police guard.
No charges have been laid and it is not suggested that Berry was responsible for the death of Ms So.
It is understood he is expected to pull through but is yet to be interviewed by investigators.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal that NSW Police went to court on Monday to ask a judge for an order to carry out a forensic procedure on Berry.
The magistrate made an interim order allowing detectives to perform the procedure, pending the determination of a final hearing of the application – which is scheduled to take place at Penrith Local Court next Monday.
Darren John Berry, 53, is currently in hospital under police guard
Emergency services were called to the hotel on Mulgoa Road (pictured) at about 1.10pm, after Ms So’s body was discovered
Berry, who uses the nickname ‘Hacksaw’, is a father and security guard originally from Sydney’s western suburbs.
Posts online suggest Berry frequented the city’s eastern suburbs, where Ms So is understood to have resided.
Berry was the subject of several apprehended violence orders taken out against him in recent years, including two relating to an ex-partner in 2017 and 2019.
A third AVO was issued in 2019 relating to a man.
It is understood Berry and So had only started dating in recent months.
Homicide detectives have launched an investigation into the moments leading up to the woman’s death.
Berry is known as ‘hacksaw’ to his mates
Berry is a security guard originally from western Sydney
Staff at the Pullman Hotel in Penrith, western Sydney made a grim discovery on Sunday afternoon when they found the dead body of a woman, covered in blood. The scene is pictured
The incident unfolded on a busy weekend at the nearby Penrith Panthers League club complex, with many locals witnessing the massive emergency response as up to 10 police cars descended on the scene.
‘We came out of the wedding expo [and saw] seven cars, three ambulances and two detective cars,’ one witness said.
‘[A] man was wheeled out of Pullmans and was in a very bad way [intubated] & was put in one of the ambulances and rushed over to the awaiting Careflight helicopter.’
Meanwhile, devastated loved ones have flocked online to remember Ms So as a ‘beautiful’ person.
‘[She was] a dear friend of mine as well as a mother, sister, aunty, daughter and a beautiful human being,’ one friend wrote online.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk