Warnbro mother Erica was stabbed to death, then set on fire. Her killer says it was self-defence
A Perth man due to appear in court on Tuesday for his partner’s murder pleaded guilty at the last minute but said he killed the 30-year-old mother in self-defence.
Luke Sekkouah, 36, stabbed Erica Hay multiple times in the head, body and legs on April 25, 2024, following a prolonged argument at the public housing estate in Warnbro.
Following the violent murder, Sekkouah set Hay’s home on fire using alcohol and a stolen bottle of turpentine, the Supreme Court of Western Australia was told on Tuesday.
He and the mother-of-four had only been in a relationship for a few months, but he was living at her home with Hay and her youngest child, who was three at the time.
His other three children lived with their father.
Prosecutors said Sekkouah lived in Kalgoorlie and after they moved in together, neighbors reported that the “mood” of the house had changed because “the doors were constantly closed”.
Around the time of the murder, an argument broke out between Sekkouah and Hay over “drug money and another woman”.
A neighbor heard the deceased say, “It’s time you treated me like your girlfriend.”
The argument escalated into violence.
Sekkouah admits to stabbing Hay in the head, legs and body, puncturing Hay’s heart and other vital organs with a kitchen knife.
Her younger daughter, who lives with autism and developmental delays, was still at home.
Sekkouah then set the house on fire.
He took Hay’s daughter and ran from the house to the neighbor, saying that the house was on fire and that he did not know where Hay was.
Police found the victim’s body inside the house, charred and covered in soot, and asked Sekkouah why he didn’t go inside for her.
He told them he was just a tenant and didn’t know she was on the property.
Police later became suspicious when they noticed that Sekkouah had no smoke damage or evidence of being in a burning house and that Hay had in fact died from stab wounds.
During an interview, Sekkouah repeatedly denied having a romantic relationship with Hay, saying that Hay was constantly yelling, that she was crazy, but that Hay did not respond.
Sekkouah pleaded not guilty and the matter was presented to the court, but before the trial began he changed his plea but did not admit the state’s facts of the matter, instead claiming that he had acted in self-defense.
Sekkouah’s attorney, Paul Bevilacqua, told the court the argument between him and Hay was “one-sided” and “involved some form of aggression.”
“He armed himself because he was being attacked,” he said.
“There were elements of provocation”
On Thursday, before Sekkouah’s sentencing, a hearing will be held where witnesses, including one of Hay’s former partners, will testify from his perspective of events.
Sekkouah himself will also testify.
Hay’s best friend Amanda, who did not want her surname to be published outside the court, said she was devastated that she was portrayed as the perpetrator.
“When I heard about how he died, I couldn’t imagine how she felt at that time and for him to turn around and blame her for everything… He wasn’t a very good person,” she said.
“She was beautiful. She was into spirituality. She was into her music. Her kids meant everything to her. She just wanted someone to love her for her, and unfortunately Luke took advantage of that.”
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