Charles Mihayo

Charles Amon Mihayo
NationalityTanzanian
Criminal statusIn prison
ChildrenSavanna and Indianna Mihayo
MotiveRevenge against ex-wife
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal chargeMurder
PenaltyLife imprisonment
Details
VictimsSavanna and Indianna Mihayo
Date20 April 2014
Location(s)Melbourne
WeaponPillow

Charles Amon Mihayo is a Tanzanian man, permanently residing in Australia,[1] who killed his two daughters in Melbourne on 20 April 2014.

Background

Mihayo was born in Tanzania.[2]

He met a woman in China, moved to Australia, and married her. He became a permanent resident of Australia. The two separated in 2011 with divorce occurring a year later.[3]

The murders were committed in Melbourne's north-eastern suburb of Watsonia, at a property on Longmuir Road just near the Greensborough Secondary College. The house in which the girls were murdered belonged to the girls' maternal great-grandmother, Margaret Mills.

Crime

On 19 April 2014, Mihayo sent a text message asking his wife to allow him to see his daughters "one last time."[2] On the following day, which was Easter Sunday,[4] Mihayo bought new clothes for the girls and visited them at the residence of their great-grandmother in Watsonia, Melbourne, Victoria.[2]

He asked his daughters, Savanna and Indianna to wear ballerina dresses and sing "Let It Go" from the 2013 American film Frozen.[5] This was recorded on videotape. He also went to play hide and seek with them.[1] He took them into a bedroom, smothered them with a pillow,[2] and put them back into clothes after bathing them post-mortem. Mihayo confessed to killing the children when police came to arrest him.[6]

Gavin Silbert QC, the chief crown prosecutor, stated that Mihayo was upset since his ex-wife found a new romantic partner. Mihayo pleaded guilty in September 2014.[6] He received a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 31 years.[4]

See also

Cases of filicide attributed to revenge against an ex-spouse:

References

  1. ^ a b Russell, Mark (18 December 2014). "Charles Mihayo jailed for life with non-parole of 31 years for killing his two young daughters". The Age. Retrieved 2 July 2018. Mihayo, a Tanzanian national who is a permanent resident of Australia,[...]
  2. ^ a b c d Murphy, Padraic (News Limited) (21 August 2014). "Charles Mihayo pleads guilty to murdering daughters Savannah, 4, and Indianna, 3". Herald Sun. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  3. ^ Ackerman, Pia (19 December 2014). "'No punishment will suffice' for killer dad Charles Mihayo". The Australian. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Charles Mihayo jailed for life for killing his daughters to get revenge on ex-wife". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  5. ^ Harding, David (5 November 2014). "Man confesses to killing daughters, ages 3 and 4, to get revenge on ex-wife". New York Daily News. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  6. ^ a b Koubardis, Andrew; Wires (5 November 2014). "Charles Mihayo in Melbourne court for plea hearing over deaths of his girls Savannah and Indianna". News.com.au (News Corp Australia). Retrieved 25 January 2017.