For Tatiana ‘Tania’ Dokhotaru, Sunday should have been spent celebrating her little boy’s fifth birthday after the pair returned from an overseas holiday just last week.
Instead, the 34-year-old mother-of-one was tragically found dead inside her Liverpool unit, in Sydney’s south-west, about 8pm on Saturday – almost 24 hours after cops received an anonymous tip-off about a domestic dispute in the Pinnacle complex, which has 297 units.
Her partner Danny Zayat, 28, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with a series of domestic violence-related offences, including choking and breaching an apprehended violence order.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal Ms Dokhotaru spent her final days enjoying quality time with her son and embarking on a new business venture.
The new details come as neighbours revealed they heard her young son screaming inside the Norfolk Street apartment about 2pm on Saturday – just hours before she was found with severe head injuries.
Tatiana ‘Tania’ Dokhotaru, 34, (pictured) was found dead in her Liverpool apartment block, in Sydney’s west, on Saturday night
Her partner Danny Zayat (pictured), 28, has been charged with domestic violence offences and is currently assisting police with enquiries into her death
Devastated friends told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that Ms Dokhotaru was a ‘beautiful mum’ who moved to the country about 10 years ago from Russia.
They said she adored her ‘bubbly’ little boy, Zayn, and the pair, who had only recently moved into the block of apartments, shared a very special bond.
‘They just returned from a seven-day holiday in Thailand together,’ one friend said.
‘He was a mummy’s boy. She did everything for him. They were always together.
The women said Zayn turned five on Sunday – just hours after his mother was found dead.
It is understood Zayn is now under the care of relatives while authorities correspond with Ms Dokhotaru’s parents, who live in Canada.
In the days before her death, Ms Dokhotaru had started renting out luxury goods – including shoes, clothes, watches, and bags from big-name brands such as Burberry, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton.
After launching a business Instagram page last week, she quickly got to work sharing photos of the designer items available – posting 140 times across Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Ms Dokhotaru had just launched a designer brand rental business in the days before her death. Pictured is a handbag listed on her Instagram page which retails for $4100
Among her hefty collection of luxury goods up for loan were Versace dresses – valued at $2280
A friend said Ms Dokhotaru was ‘hardworking’ and had set up the new project to earn a bit of cash while caring for her son fulltime.
Just hours after the last images were posted, police received a call from a distressed woman complaining she was being assaulted during an argument over money.
Police arrived at the scene three hours after the woman phoned in, but left when they could not determine the unit number.
Ms Dokhotaru was discovered when officers returned to the building the next day after receiving a call from a neighbour.
An investigation is now underway to determine if Ms Dokhotaru was the person who made the 11:45pm call – and why she was not found until 8pm on Saturday.
Neighbour Hassan Haddad, who lives on the same floor as Ms Dokhotaru, said he heard her son screaming ‘really loud’ about six hours before his mother’s body was found.
Mr Haddad said, while it was not uncommon to hear the boy screaming or yelling, he was taken aback by the distressing cry on Saturday.
‘It went on for about five minutes,’ Mr Haddad said.
‘I’ve never heard a kid scream like that.’
Mr Haddad said there were always people coming and going from Ms Dokhotura’s unit, and she largely kept to herself.
The business page featured photos of Ms Dokhotaru modelling some of the garments
One of the posts included a Burberry bum bag – which has a purchase cost of $580
Ms Dokhotaru also put on offer a Christian Dior active wear set – which fetches for upwards of $1500 online
However, when they did run into each other in common areas she was ‘always smiling, very friendly and would always say hello’.
While he did not believe Zayat lived at the unit, Mr Haddad said he had seen him around the building.
Mr Haddad said he was shocked it took police so long to determine her location and he and his wife were now afraid to continue living in a massive apartment block.
‘It’s just so sad. It was a serious phone call and they didn’t show up until almost 24 hours later. This is what makes you start to lose faith in the system,’ he said.
‘What’s the point of calling triple zero if you can call a family member and they can get there faster than the police?
‘I’ve seen cops respond to a burnout instantly, but someone making a distress call and it takes four hours to get there?
‘I don’t feel safe living in a high-rise building anymore. We are thinking about packing up and moving.’
Several police officers remained at the scene on Monday as forensic examinations continued in the apartment and detectives door-knocked local businesses.
Meanwhile, heartbroken loved ones gathered outside the apartment block, laying flowers and comforting each other as came to terms with the young mother’s death.
Among the tributes were two bottles of wine – in homage to the late mother’s affinity for the alcoholic beverage.
Police were at first unable to locate which flat Ms Dokhotaru was in in the massive, 297-unit apartment block
Two officers are pictured sitting out the front of Ms Dokhotaru’s unit in Liverpool on Monday
One friend said grew concerned for Ms Dokhotaru over the weekend after the mother had not responded to her texts.
On Sunday, after her partner drove past Ms Dokhotaru’s apartment block to find it swarmed by police, she headed down to the unit.
It was through overhearing someone at the scene mentioning her friend’s name that she realised Ms Dokhotaru was dead.
‘It’s disgusting the cops didn’t enter after she made the call,’ another friend said.
‘If they rocked up sooner, she would have been alive.’
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith said police had been unable to determine the exact origin of the call at the 297-unit building.
‘(The) triple-0 call centre on Friday night received a phone call from an anonymous female person reflecting she was (allegedly) being assaulted and money was being requested by another person in the unit,’ he said.
‘She provided no name and the address for that phone call was a large block of units here in Liverpool.’
Ms Dokhotaru’s friends broke down in tears as they placed tributes outside her apartment block on Monday
Meanwhile, Zayat faced court on Monday charged with a raft of offences including intimidation and destroying or damaging property.
The court was told that Zayat was now facing more than a dozen new charges, including domestic-violence-related choking without consent, assault occasioning bodily harm, and common assault.
Court documents reveal Mr Zayat’s history of alleged domestic violence dating back to 2021.
Police allege Zayat assaulted Ms Dokhotaru in St Marys and again months later in Leichardt, causing her actual bodily harm.
Years later, Zayat is alleged to have contravened orders of an AVO and assaulted Ms Dokhotaru while the pair were in Liverpool on April 13, 2023. He was charged with causing her actual bodily harm over the alleged incident.
In the days following, Zayat is alleged to have again breached the court order and was charged for intentionally choking Ms Dokhotaru without her consent.
On May 1, Zayat is alleged by police to have assaulted his partner in Liverpool and to have choked her without her consent.
Two days before his arrest and the discovery of Ms Dokhotaru’s body, Zayat is alleged to have destroyed his partner’s TV, while breaching an AVO and causing fear.
Zayat was refused bail on Monday to reappear before the same court on Friday.
Lawyer Talal Krayem said Mr Zayat would be making a bid for release on bail at that date.
Police are looking at how Ms Dokhotaru died, and no charges relating to her death have been made.
Police have launched a critical incident investigation into why it took so long for officers to locate the apartment
The mother-of-one has been remembered as ‘beautiful’ and ‘hardworking’
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