Husband who beat his ‘detested’ ex-wife, 61, with a coffee table leg and then strangled her to death with an electrical cord after an argument about a heater is jailed for 25 years
- Mehmed Solmaz, 62, beat his former wife unconscious with a leg of a table
- Fatma Solmaz, 61, was then strangled with death with an extension cord
- Her death comes after the pair had an argument over the use of a heater
- The Melbourne man was jailed for 25 years after pleading guilty to the murder
A Melbourne man says he ‘must have lost myself’ when he viciously beat his ‘detested’ former wife unconscious with a table leg, then strangled her to death with an extension lead.
Mehmed Solmaz, 62, was jailed on Monday for 25 years after pleading guilty to the May 2017 murder of Fatma Solmaz, 61.
He fled Victoria but was caught days after the murder in Queensland, and sent back home to face justice.
The couple migrated to Australia from Bulgaria in their 20s, before their relationship became ‘very unhappy’.
They divorced in the 90s but continued to co-habit at Sunshine West.
Mehmed Solmaz (pictured) says he ‘must have lost myself’ when he viciously beat his ‘detested’ former wife unconscious with a table leg
The 61-year-old (left and right) then strangled his wife to death with an electrical cord
On the day of her death, the pair had an argument over Solmaz’s use of the heater, when he claimed his former wife struck him with a coffee table leg.
In response, Solmaz grabbed the piece of wood and beat the mother of his two sons repeatedly until she lost consciousness.
‘While she remained unconscious on the floor, you grabbed the electrical cable, wrapped it more than once tightly around her neck, and strangled her,’ Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tinney said while sentencing on Monday.
‘You killed her by a protracted display of extravagant violence.
‘In heartless fashion, you left her dead on the floor, packed a suitcase and went about your business.’
Solmaz grabbed the piece of wood and beat the mother of his two sons repeatedly until she lost consciousness
The scene: The 61-year-old woman’s body was found inside her Melbourne home
Solmaz was extradited back to Victoria, where he told police his ex-wife had been abusive to him and planned to poison his food or kill him in his sleep.
But Justice Tinney said there was no proof behind the claims, which he deemed ‘implausible’ and likely false.
He added Solmaz acted in an ‘outburst of homicidal rage’ rather than a psychologically distorted state, meaning his moral culpability was ‘extremely high’.
Solmaz, who has already served 809 days in pre-sentence detention, will be eligible for parole once he has spent 20 years behind bars.
Solmaz told police his ex-wife had been abusive to him and planned to poison his food or kill him in his sleep