Samoan Father Stabs Wife to Death in Jealous Frenzy Before Children
A Samoan father-of-five, consumed by what a judge termed 'morbid jealousy', brutally murdered his wife in a frenzied knife attack, an act witnessed by three of their young children. Rimoni Muliaga, 44, repeatedly plunged a large kitchen knife into Lise Muliaga, 37, in the backyard of his brother's bungalow in Melton South, located in Melbourne's outer west.
A Tragic Day of Violence
The horrific incident occurred on September 18, 2023, just weeks after the family had migrated from New Zealand. On Wednesday, Supreme Court of Victoria Justice James Gorton condemned Muliaga for the murder, describing it as 'an act of the most serious domestic violence against an innocent and unarmed woman' that 'warrants serious condemnation'.
The court heard that Muliaga had argued with his wife that morning after accusing her of having an affair with his brother—a suspicion he had harboured for some time despite it being entirely unfounded. After she returned from a walk, the row escalated in the bungalow where three of the children, aged 12, seven, and five, were present.
The Fatal Attack
Muliaga attacked his wife with the knife, stabbing her four times: twice to the right shoulder, once to the left upper chest, and once to the left breast. The fatal wound was a 9.5cm stab to the upper chest that cut through two ribs, transected two major blood vessels, caused massive blood loss, perforated the chest cavity, and damaged a lung.
Justice Gorton stated: 'You stabbed your wife, Lise, multiple times with a kitchen knife. You did so in front of your children in the backyard of your brother's house. You stabbed her because you mistakenly believed that she was having an affair with your brother.'
Mrs Muliaga fought for her life, suffering defensive knife cuts to her arms as she desperately tried to fend him off. 'It was a frightening and violent death,' Justice Gorton said.
Aftermath and Arrest
One of the couple's young daughters ran screaming to the main house. When family members rushed to the backyard, they found Mrs Muliaga sitting on the ground with the knife still sticking out of her shoulder, bleeding heavily. Muliaga was seen standing over her. His sister-in-law screamed at him, asking what he was doing.
The killer fled up the street but later insisted: 'Lise and (his brother) were sleeping together.' Muliaga's brother called triple zero and performed CPR, but despite briefly regaining a heartbeat, Mrs Muliaga was declared dead at 2.33pm. Muliaga was arrested nearby with blood still on his hands.
Legal Proceedings and Sentencing
A jury found Muliaga guilty of murder in December after a trial in which he admitted the stabbing but contested his intention. Justice Gorton sentenced Muliaga on the basis that he stabbed his wife with the intention of 'causing really serious injury', without caring whether she lived or died.
The judge noted the attack was spontaneous, not premeditated, but entirely unprovoked. The fact that three children witnessed their mother's violent death was an aggravating factor that heightened the objective seriousness of the crime.
Background and Mitigating Factors
The court heard Muliaga was born in Samoa in 1981, one of nine children, and had a difficult upbringing involving physical abuse. He had a low IQ of just 61, placing him in the bottom 0.5 per cent of the population and meeting the threshold for intellectual disability, along with impaired executive functioning and rigid thinking.
He had a history of mental health issues, including depression with psychotic features and a prior diagnosis of schizophrenia in New Zealand. A forensic psychiatrist who assessed Muliaga concluded he suffered from a major depressive disorder rather than schizophrenia. While the court found the condition reduced his moral culpability, Justice Gorton stressed it did not excuse the crime, as Muliaga knew what he was doing was wrong.
Prior Violence and Impact
The court heard Muliaga had previously been violent towards Lise, including one incident where his brother found him on top of her and another where his sister-in-law saw him with his hand around her neck. Their children, now coping with the support of family, submitted victim impact statements declaring they faced life without their mother and the trauma of knowing their father killed her.
Muliaga, who is not an Australian citizen, is likely to be deported upon release. Justice Gorton sentenced Muliaga to 24 years in jail with a non-parole period of 18 years and six months. He has already served 919 days in pre-sentence detention.
