‘Faith shaken’: family describe toll of woman’s murder

A man who strangled his ex-partner in a hotel room made a pathetic attempt to resuscitate her before cowardly escaping.

Mary Benedito, 25, died in hospital after being violently attacked by Reo Te Whetu Marama Marsh at a Gold Coast apartment complex on November 27, 2021.

Marsh, 39, appeared in the Brisbane Supreme Court for sentencing on Monday after pleading guilty to murder.

Judge Lincoln Crowley heard Ms Benedito suffered blunt force assault and died from brain damage caused by manual strangulation.

“He had significant bruising on his arms, forearms, shoulders and fingers, which are called defensive injuries,” said Chief Prosecutor Nathan Crane.

The couple had separated and were arguing about Ms Benedito’s plan to move to New Zealand and seeing other men.

“This is not an explanation for his behavior,” Mr. Crane said.

The couple were seen on CCTV earlier in the holiday swimming and shopping on the Gold Coast.

After fatally wounding Ms Benedito, Marsh fled his hotel room and drove to a suburb of Brisbane trying to evade a police search.

“He attempted to flee a short distance from where he was arrested,” Mr Crane said.

Mr Crane said Marsh pleaded guilty to murder for assaulting Ms Benedito with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

In a statement to the victims, her cousin Josiah Benedito-Taotafa said Ms. Benedito brought warmth, energy and care to every space she entered.

“He was humorous, completely confident in his values ​​and extremely compassionate,” she said.

Ms. Benedito’s family was torn between hope and fear for long hours as she lay in intensive care for three days before the decision to turn off life support.

“My family has seen their faith shaken, their health deteriorate, and a collective struggle to recover from grief, shock and trauma,” Mr. Benedito-Taotafa said. he said.

Ms. Benedito’s sister said she never thought she would have to bury her little brother.

“Her greatest accomplishment was being a mother, and she took that away from her,” the sister said.

Ms. Benedito’s aunt Maria, who helped raise her as a child, said she would always be heartbroken.

“Seeing him black and blue with tubes keeping him alive tore our family apart,” she said.

In a letter to Ms. Benedito’s family, she wrote that Marsh regretted and hated himself every day for taking what was irreplaceable.

“The injustice of my actions is too severe to beg for forgiveness,” Marsh said.

Marsh’s lawyer said Marsh’s guilty plea saved the family from the trauma of the trial and that he was truly remorseful.

Judge Crowley told Marsh he dragged Ms Benedito back to her hotel room and made a “pathetic” attempt to resuscitate her before cowardly fleeing when paramedics arrived.

“You used great force to do this. As you strangled him, you strangled him at the same time,” he said.

“This all happened because you were angry… you tried to control her life.”

Marsh was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Due to the time he has spent in custody, he will be eligible for parole under the age of 16.

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