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Murderer jailed for at least 20 years after stabbing unarmed victim to death

A 26-year-old Queensland man will serve at least two decades in jail after stabbing his unarmed victim in the neck at his own home and leaving him to die.

Dec 03, 2021, updated Dec 03, 2021
Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir said Broom had "terrorised the building with complete indifference to life" and presented a danger to the community. (Photo: ABC)

Crown prosecutor Stephen Muir said Broom had "terrorised the building with complete indifference to life" and presented a danger to the community. (Photo: ABC)

A big sister’s horrific discovery of her brother’s body after he was stabbed in the neck and left to die has been recounted in court as the offender was sentenced to life in jail.

There were tears in the packed gallery as the widely felt repercussions of Damian Marko Markovski’s decision to stab Robert Charles Frescon, 33, were detailed in a victim impact statement.

Markovski sat with his head down in the Brisbane Supreme Court dock on Friday as prosecutor Mark Whitbread read the statement from Mr Frescon’s sister, Tania Wilson.

“I knew within my heart that something was wrong,” Ms Wilson wrote, recounting the drive to check on her brother after he failed to answer his phone.

“You knew that whoever found Robert would find him the way you left him, that they would find him without life, murdered in his own home.”

She described her little brother as full of life, quick witted and funny, with charisma that drew people to him.

Many people loved Robert, and more than 800 mourners were at his funeral, Ms Wilson said.

“I shouldn’t have found him like that, he should still be here with us. You did that to him, you did this to our family,” she wrote.

Markovski and a friend, Thomas Appleby, had been drinking and using drugs before travelling from the Gold Coast to Mr Frescon’s suburban Brisbane home in January 2019, the court was told.

Evidence during the trial suggested motivation for the visit was to get more drugs on credit, and failing that, by robbery.

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Appleby had been in a fight with the unarmed Mr Frescon before a masked Markovski entered the room and stabbed his victim “within seconds” of arriving, the court was told on Friday.

“You did not hesitate, even for a second, to simply pause and threaten the defenceless man with your knife,” Justice Peter Applegarth said.

Markovski was found guilty of murder on Wednesday and has been in custody since handing himself in two days after the attack.

He received a mandatory sentence of life in prison with 1048 days declared as time served, and will serve at least 20 years.

Appleby was found not guilty of murder, but the jury was unable to reach a majority verdict on the alternate charge of manslaughter and was discharged.

He was remanded in custody pending a review of his case.

A third man, Nicholas James Torralba, was given a directed verdict of acquittal.

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