Family mourns mum, 30, strangled to death by a man moments after they met on the street and had sex – as killer’s chilling texts made while victim lay dying are revealed
- Ms Dann randomly met Amos Ryan Gunn, 23, on the streets of a small town
- After the pair had sex, Gunn claimed Dann, 30, threatened him with a metal bar
- Gunn grabbed the bar and held it against her neck until he believed she died
- Afterwards, he sent text messages and referred to her body as a ‘carcass’
Ms Dann, 30, randomly met Amos Ryan Gunn after he left the racetrack in Moora
The family of a young mother who was strangled to death with a metal bar have opened up about their grief, as it is revealed the killer referred to her body as a ‘carcass’ in a series of chilling texts.
The 30-year-old woman – known only as Ms Dann for cultural reasons – had been kicked out of a party when she randomly met Amos Ryan Gunn after he left the racetrack in Moora, north of Perth, on March 17 last year.
The then 21-year-old invited the mother-of-one into his home, but – according to Gunn’s claims in WA’s Supreme Court on Tuesday – the situation took a sinister turn when Ms Dann became enraged after the pair had sex.
He claimed Ms Dann came out of the shower and threatened him with a metal bar, which he then grabbed from her – causing her to fall to the ground, The West reported.
Gunn held the bar to her neck so forcefully he believed he had killed her, but the victim didn’t die until some time later in hospital after emergency workers realised she was still breathing.
In a victim impact statements read to the court, Ms Dann’s mother Fatima described the feeling of ’emptiness inside’ said her daughter’s death would haunt her for the rest of her life.
Amos Ryan Gunn invited Ms Dann into his home after they met on the street in Moora, north of Perth
Ms Dann’s father Robert told the court he was so consumed with grief that he is unable to work
Her father Robert told the court he was so consumed with grief that he is unable to work.
The heartbroken father-of-three said his daughter did not deserve to die, noting that ‘violence against women was a senseless crime’.
The court heard Gunn tried to cover the crime in the 15 minutes between her death and when he called for help.
Within that time, he sent a series of text messages to his flatmate’s father.
‘The chicken is dead, mate. A fox or something got it. I’m not sure how to put it. Sorry.’
In another message, he wrote: ‘It isn’t exactly a movie scenario. Ben and Shan aren’t answering. I’ve got it under wraps until someone gets home to get rid of the carcass, though.’
The court heard Gunn tried to cover the crime in the 15 minutes between her death and when he called for help. Pictured: The home where Gunn strangled Ms Dann
The flatmate’s father explained to police that Gunn told him ‘an Indigenous person broke into the house and that he had stabbed them and that they were dead’ – a lie he later admitted to because he was ‘ashamed he slept with Ms Dann’.
Justice Joseph McGrath sentenced Gunn to eights years in jail after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
He pointed out that the killer – who stands at 185cm – had used ‘excessive force’ on his 162cm victim, but accepted that the Gunn failed to call emergency services straight away because he panicked after he thought he killed her.
The judge also believed Gunn was genuinely sorry for leaving a five-year-old boy without a mother, and that his actions were in response to Ms Dann’s outburst.
He will be eligible for parole in six years, backdated to March 2019 when he was taken into custody.