A man facing 22 domestic violence charges after his former partner was found dead has been granted bail as “the elephant in the room” of a potential murder charge is yet to be determined, a court was told.
Danny Zayat, 28, faced the NSW Supreme Court via video link from custody on Thursday when the court was told his trial would not likely occur before 2025.
The Sydney concreter is facing several serious domestic violence charges against Tatiana Dokhotaru, whose body was found inside her Liverpool unit on Saturday, May 27.
Police officers are investigating their response time to a triple-0 call by Ms Dokhotaru the night before she was found dead, saying she was being assaulted.
NSW Police said she did not leave her home details and police databases had different addresses attached to the woman’s phone number, which made it harder to find her among the 297 apartments.
Mr Zayat’s defence barrister, Ertunc Ozen SC, said he found this “quite unusual”, given there was an interim Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) in place at the time.
“That would be in the [police] system … Any such triple-0 call would trigger [that] warning and set out the address,” Mr Ozen said.
“It does not appear there was any attempt by police to attend prior to the applicant himself making the triple-0 call.”
Mr Ozen submitted that Mr Zayat had fought with Ms Dokhotaru about 20 hours before he arrived on the Saturday evening about 8pm and was heard “yelling out for help”.
“When he came back he found her like that,” before “running down the hallway and calling ‘help me’,” Mr Ozen said.
Mr Ozen said police observed his client in “extreme distress … something difficult to fake if he knew 20 hours before he’d done something to cause the death of [Ms Dokhotaru].”
In the absence of toxicology, forensic pathology, and post-mortem reports, the charges, while serious, are of domestic violence only, Mr Ozen said.
“That’s the elephant in the room, is he going to be charged with murder?”Justice Helen Wilson said.
“Precisely,” Mr Ozen said.
The charges ranging over separate incidents between 2021 and 2023, include two counts of choking without consent, stalking or intimidation intending to cause fear of physical harm, and breaching an apprehended domestic violence order.
Justice Wilson said these were alleged accounts given by witnesses and found on electronic devices after Mr Zayat’s arrest, and the cause of Ms Dokhotaru’s death was yet to be determined.
The Crown said some of the charges he faces carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and that their “seriousness was escalating” over the time of their toxic relationship.
They also said claims that Ms Dokhotaru was addicted to the opioid OxyContonin at the time of her death, were unfounded.
Justice Wilson granted Mr Zayat bail, saying he had no relevant criminal record and was never convicted of any violent offences.
“It’s not for this court or function of bail to remand someone so he can be charged with murder at a later stage,” Justice Wilson said.
Mr Zayat must live with his family, abide by a strict curfew, and report to NSW Police every day.
