Killer hunted ex before stabbing her Tinder date to death at restaurant
The family of a New South Wales man murdered while on a first date with a woman he'd just met through the dating app Tinder have come face to face with his killer for the first time.
Keith Collins died and Jovi Pilapil was injured in a stabbing attack by her estranged husband.
As sentencing began on Friday, a court heard of the heartbreak of those left behind when Alexander Villaluna repeatedly plunged a knife into his victim in a public place.
Mr Collins was out on a first date with Villaluna's estranged wife, Ms Pilapil on March 30 last year. She had moved on, but Villaluna hadn't.
Ms Pilapil's ex partner hunted her down, going from restaurant to restaurant at Hornsby Westfield until he finally found the pair having dinner.
The court heard Villaluna approached the pair and calmly put his hand on Mr Collins’ shoulder, before stabbing him 11 times in front of diners.
Villaluna's ex-wife was also attacked, but she survived.
The prosecution called him a killer "blinded by jealousy and rage" and said that he murdered Mr Collins, however Villaluna claims he was motivated by love.
“The world lost a friend and mentor, a shoulder to lean on. And I lost my Dad,” the victim’s son Thomas told the court.
Mr Collins’s sister Audrey Jenkins said: “I can't comprehend how an innocent and impromptu dinner date in a public place could have resulted in him being killed.”
In a letter he wrote to the victim's family, the killer said: “I'm still angry at what happened to me.”
“In a temporary moment of insanity, all joy is gone. He's dead. I am dead,” Villaluna wrote.
Villaluna offered his condolences to the victim's family in court, however the Crown has labelled it disingenuous.
His behaviour it says, is much to the contrary - that he's shown a complete lack of remorse and empathy.
Villaluna is due to be sentenced next month.
