NSW Police are opening its fourth critical incident inquiry in less than two weeks after 34-year-old Tatiana Dokhotaru was found dead inside an apartment in south-west Sydney, less than 24 hours after an anonymous triple-0 call.
Dokhotaru’s body was found by police on Saturday night in a unit in Liverpool, seventeen hours after they had made a visit to the front of the complex upon receiving an anonymous phone call about an alleged domestic dispute late Friday night.
According to South West Metropolitan Region Commander Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith, the female caller did not leave her details, so when the police arrived, they “were presented with 297 units and no obvious offence in front of them.”
“[They] were presented with a dual sky tower of 27 levels and more than 300 apartments,” Assistant Commissioner Smith said. “They were unable to determine the exact location of the anonymous call. That was referred then to every shift that followed that and further inquiries were made there.”
According to Smith, inquiries were made throughout Saturday into who had made the phone call, though it wasn’t until another triple-0 call from a person police believe to be a neighbour, that eventually helped identify the location of Dokhotaru.
Assistant Commissioner Smith announced a critical incident investigation would be launched to examine what had happened.
“This morning I was briefed at about 5am, and by 8.40am I declared a critical incident investigation, additional to the homicide investigation that remains underway,” he said.
“It’s there for me, that I can satisfy around the response to the triple-0 call.”
“The priority given to the job, the inquiries conducted to establish that priority, the inquiries established to find the source of the anonymous triple-0 call and the officers inquiries are subject to the critical incident investigation.”
The investigation, which will analyse other circumstances of the incident, is continuing under Strike Force Midian, involving detectives from Liverpool City detectives and State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad.
Danny Zayat, 28, was arrested at the scene on Sunday and charged with stalk/intimidate intend fear physical etc harm (DV), contravene prohibition/restriction in AVO (DV) and destroy or damage property (DV).
Assistant Commissioner Smith said Dokhotaru and Zayat were in a de facto relationship and that Zayat “shouldn’t have been” at the unit.
Zayat appeared at Parramatta bail court later that day where he was refused bail. He is due in Liverpool Local Court today.
This latest critical incident investigation is the fourth in under a fortnight. NSW Police are also looking into the death of 95-year-old Clare Nowland, who sustained fatal injuries after being shot with a Taser, the death of 41-year old Steve Pampalian who was shot by police in North Willoughby last week, and the death of a 75-year-old man in Coffs Harbour on Tuesday.
So far this year, 14 women have been murdered due to domestic and family violence, according to Counting Dead Women Australia.
Femicide researcher Sherele Moody believes the number is higher, posting on social media about Dokhotaru’s murder.
“Tatiana is the 22nd Australian woman lost to violence this year,” Moody wrote on Twitter.
“Questions must be answered over how it is police came to miss Tatiana on that first visit and also why a domestic violence assault call to 000 was not prioritised.”
If you or someone you know is in need of help due to sexual assault or family and domestic violence contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732
In an emergency call 000. Lifeline (13 11 14) and, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 13YARN (13 92 76)