- Benjamin Artwork, 42, charged with killing his housemate
- Annette Kiss, 55, allegedly brutally murdered on Thursday
A mother-of-two who was allegedly murdered by her new flatmate had solely moved into the sharehouse as a result of her former house had burnt down 5 weeks earlier.
Benjamin Artwork, 42, allegedly murdered Annette Kiss, 55, on the house they briefly shared in Russell Lea, in Sydney’s west, on Thursday morning utilizing a sword, a meat cleaver, and a claw foot hammer.
Police allege he bumped into the home brandishing weapons, yelled at his 4 housemates to take a seat down, and began displaying Ms Kiss texts from an unknown sender on his telephone.
‘You are attempting to set me up, who you bought to attempt to kill me? Who’s the chick texting me?’ he allegedly yelled.
‘You are attempting to set me up or get me killed, now you are attempting to kill me.’
Artwork allegedly held Ms Kiss by the neck earlier than he grabbed the cleaver, whereas one other feminine housemate tried to cease the alleged assault with a chair earlier than she fled and referred to as police.
On Friday, a neighbour instructed Each day Mail Australia the surviving housemates are ‘too traumatised’ to return to the house and acquire their issues.
Annette Kiss, 55, was allegedly murdered by her new housemate on Thursday morning
Benjamin Artwork (pictured) has been charged over the alleged violent homicide of his housemate
She additionally mentioned Ms Kiss was a cellular canine groomer with two kids who had solely moved into the property 5 weeks earlier as a result of her former house went up in flames when a lithium battery from an e-bike exploded.
In accordance with the native, Artwork lived in a shed on the entrance of the property, away from the principle home, and Ms Kiss would typically stand out the entrance and burn objects in a hearth drum after 8pm.
‘Our home would refill with smoke, I requested her to cease with the burning and provided her our bins and she or he received a bit sh***y in an “I can do what I need”, sort angle,’ she mentioned.
‘She was with some unsavoury characters so I backed off a bit and she or he continued to burn stuff – and I am speaking enormous flames every night time over the past three weeks.’
The neighbour mentioned she did not know what Ms Kiss was burning.
Artwork was an out-of-work brick-layer who had solely lived on the property for 2 weeks previous to the alleged homicide.
Annette Kiss (pictured) was a cellular canine groomer with two sons
Pictured: Police on the crime scene on Friday, after Benjamin Artwork allegedly murdered Annette Kiss
When police arrived on the home, they allegedly discovered him mendacity on Ms Kiss’ physique with a sword.
One other neighbour who noticed the arrest mentioned Artwork was ‘filthy, sporting trackie-dacks’.
‘His ft had been black soiled, he was flailing round like a seal on a rock – swearing like a sailor,’ he mentioned.
He was represented by solicitor Javid Faiz in Parramatta Bail Courtroom on Friday. He didn’t apply for bail nevertheless it was formally refused.
‘My shopper understands the seriousness of the matter,’ Mr Faiz mentioned exterior courtroom, based on the Each day Telegraph.
‘He is instructed me to not make a launch utility right now.’
His matter will return to Burwood Native Courtroom on August 22.
Superintendent Christine McDonald mentioned on Thursday that Artwork didn’t have a violent historical past, and mentioned he was not in a romantic relationship with Ms Kiss.
