SYDNEY tradesman Tony Halloun has been sentenced to a minimum of 17 years’ jail for bludgeoning to death a Sydney grandmother in her harbourside mansion.
A Supreme Court jury took just two hours to unanimously find Halloun guilty of murdering Shahnaz Qidwai in her home, a prestigious property known as Burnham Castle in Henley, near Gladesville, on June 15, 2012.
Mrs Qidwai’s husband, Dr Khalil Qidwai, and his daughters Dr Maha Qidwai, Dr Hana Saeed and Dr Sannah Qidwai, hugged each other and cried as the 35-year-old concreter was taken away by Corrective Services officers.
Halloun, a Christian Lebanese who the court heard had been severely bashed by Muslim prisoners while on remand because his victim was a Muslim, showed no emotion as Justice Lucy McCallum handed down a sentence of 24 years with a non-parole period of 17 years.
Mrs Qidwai’s body was found lying in the bedroom of the family home by her youngest daughter Maha, who told the court she could not get the image of her mother’s bruised and bloodied face out of her mind.
In sentencing Halloun today, JusticeMcCallum said this “grim experience has cast a haunting veil over her [Maha’s] memories of her mother”.
It was clear Mrs Qidwai was an extraordinary woman, full of warmth and kindness and that her family “will always ache” for her, she said.
Halloun, Justice McCallum said, had taken advantage of this kindness on the day of Mrs Qidwai’s death by getting her to allow him into the home.
Once inside, the financially stressed Halloun rummaged through the envelopes of cash kept by Mrs Qidwai.
While no one could say for certain what happened next, Justice McCallum said she was satisfied Mrs Qidwai probably happened upon Halloun doing something wrong and he attacked her “out of panic”.
“I am satisfied that the offender formed an intention to steal from the house but I doubt he intended to kill Mrs Qidwai,” she said.
“His apparent inability to accept responsibility for [the murder] in the face of an overwhelming circumstantial case may come down to a question of pride or an inability to say out loud that he did such a terrible thing.”
But, she said, up until the murder, Halloun had led a good life and that the offence was out of character.
Halloun’s trial heard he was nearly $100,000 in debt at the time of the killing and he had stolen at least $3000 from the Qidwai’s home.
Between his initial police interview and his trial, the killer came up with three versions of events surrounding Mrs Qidwai’s death — even testifying he had seen masked bandits break in and hold a gun to the victim’s head.
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