Sisters Indianna (3) and Savannah Mihayo (4) in happier times. Their
father, Tanzanian resident in Australia Charles Mihayo (36), faces a
life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty of murdering the two girls in
Melbourne by suffocating them earlier this year. Story on page 4 . PHOTO
| agencies
By The Citizen Reporter and Agencies
In Summary
According to media reports in Australia, Charles
Mihayo, 36, will be sentenced next month for the offence which carries a
maximum of life imprisonment.
According to media reports in Australia, Charles
Mihayo, 36, will be sentenced next month for the offence which carries a
maximum of life imprisonment.
Mihayo admitted, in court, he had suffocated the
children, Savannah, 4, and Indianna, 3 in Melbourne. He claimed he did
not plan to kill his children but would not say why he did it, reported
The Age.
The accused, appeared in court handcuffed and wearing a grey track suit and was remanded for a plea hearing on November 5.
With the guilty plea, he is likely to spend the
rest of his life behind bars since the maximum penalty for murder in
Australia is life imprisonment.
He was first arraigned in April for taking the
lives of the little girls who were found dead at their grandmother’s
home in Watsonia on Easter Sunday.
Australian media reported that Mihayo, flanked by
three guards, appeared in the dock behind glass, usually reserved for
unruly or high-risk defendants.
“Mihayo who was living in a granny flat at the
back of the property (where the crime was committed), was married to the
girls’ mother, but they separated about a year ago,” reported Herald
Sun, adding that the arrangements for care of the girls was not known.
The overwhelmed mother of the girls said they will
be “forever missed, loved, and never forgotten”, and added: “We are
utterly devastated at the loss of Savannah and Indianna,” in a brief
statement released by police.
But last week, details emerged how Mihayo had
played hide and seek with the girls before smothering them with a pillow
in the house.
“A prosecution summary tendered at an earlier
Melbourne Magistrates’ Court hearing revealed Mihayo, a Tanzania
national who is a permanent resident of Australia, told his estranged
partner, the girl’s mother that he wanted to ‘say goodbye’ to the girls
and ‘see them one last time’ so a meeting was planned for the following
day,” reported The Age:
“The girls’ mother took them to see Mihayo, who
lived in a self-contained unit at the back of her mother’s house at
Watsonia, just after 2pm on Easter Sunday.”
Mihayo hugged the girls and asked how long he had with them
before taking them inside. The ex-partner and her mother remained at the
main house where they could hear the children playing, the paper
reported.
After a short time the ex-partner and her mother
noticed that the girls had gone quiet inside the house. The ex-partner
went to the unit door and knocked. Mihayo said ‘wait a minute’ and the
ex-partner knocked again calling out to Mihayo.
Mihayo yelled out: “You will know when they get here”, before the ex-partner ran into the main house to call police.
When police arrived Mihayo opened the door with a
towel in his hands and told police: “It’s done. I’ve killed them. I’ve
killed my kids.”
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