‘Broken’: Mother of murder victim speaks
The partner of a murdered Melbourne man who was shot in his house by his ex’s new husband will never forget the moment he was killed in front of her, a court has been told.
Michael Caposiena was killed in March 2016 as a result of a violent plot that ended with two men dead; Mr Caposiena fatally stabbing his assailant, Glen Cassidy, multiple times before the gun was turned on him.
Mr Caposiena’s ex, Biannca Edmunds, who two weeks before the fatal night married Mr Cassidy, was found guilty of Mr Caposiena’s murder by a Supreme Court jury in December who found that she was involved or complicit in the murder.
In a pre-sentence hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday, Silvana Silva, Mr Caposiena’s new partner, recounted the terror of the night during which she was also shot at, only for the bullet not to discharge.
Prosecutor Neill Hutton told the jury that would ultimately convict Edmunds in November that Mr Caposiena and Ms Silva were watching television on the night of March 12 at the victim’s unit in Westmeadows, in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Mr Hutton told the jury that at about 7.30pm Ms Silva noticed Mr Cassidy, whom she recognised due to a feud between the two couples over custody of Mr Caposiena and Edmunds’ child, outside their home.
He said when Mr Caposiena answered the door he held a knife before Mr Cassidy barged into the home and a fight ensued between the pair that ended when Mr Cassidy shot Mr Caposiena in the head.
While Mr Caposiena lay dead in the kitchen, Mr Cassidy chased Ms Silva and pulled the trigger as he held the gun to her head, but the weapon failed to discharge any bullets, Mr Hutton said.
Mr Cassidy continued to beat Ms Silva with the gun until it broke into multiple pieces and slammed her head into concrete outside the home until he was detained by neighbours, Mr Hutton said.
Mr Cassidy, who met Edmunds in his capacity as a personal trainer before their relationship began, bled out and died at the scene.
Mr Hutton told the jury that Edmunds had given her new husband Mr Caposiena’s address and drawn him a map of the neighbourhood. He said the two communicated in coded messages prior to the killing that “clearly” discussed her former partner’s murder.
Mr Caposiena’s mother, Soccorsa Caposiena, said she was “broken” and “just not able to sleep” since the night of her son’s murder.
His big family, many of whom gave victim impact statements, took up two benches in court on Friday, metres away from Edmunds, who sat largely expressionless throughout the hearing.
Defence barrister Sharon Lacy said while it was accepted there was a “longstanding animus” between the former partners, it was her submission that the genesis of the plan originated with Mr Cassidy.
The hearing, before Justice Lex Lasry, continues.
