Western Sydney man allegedly stabbed, thrown into river by wife’s former lover
A Western Sydney man killed his ex-girlfriend’s husband by repeatedly stabbing him, then weighing him down with stones and throwing him into the Nepean River more than two decades ago, a court heard.
Gofal Baziad, 54, is on trial in the NSW Supreme Court, pleading not guilty to the murder of Jason Palmer in February 2004.
On Thursday the court was told Mr Palmer’s body was found weighed down by rocks in the Nepean River at Menangle, three weeks after he was last seen.
The court was told how in the months before the alleged murder Mr Palmer had a meeting with his wife Renny Palmer and Mr Baziad and asked her to choose between the two men.
Ms. Palmer is not charged with any crime.
The court was told Mr Baziad had a brief affair with Ms Palmer while she was separated from her husband.
“The relationship between Mr Palmer and Renny Palmer was, in a sense, stop-start,” Crown Prosecutor Brett Hatfield SC told the jury in his opening statement on Thursday afternoon.
“They married in 1996, but separated in March or April 2002 and reunited in some capacity in 2003.”
The court was told the couple’s relationship first ended in 2002 after Mr Palmer had an affair.
Ms Palmer met Mr Baziad during her separation from her husband and they ran a Lidcombe kebab shop together for a short time in 2003.
But Ms Palmer and Mr Palmer got back together in late 2003 after she chose her husband.
Mr Hatfield told the court: “Around December 2003, the defendant (Mr Baziad), the deceased (Mr Palmer) and Ms Palmer met at (Mr Baziad’s) flat in Lakemba to discuss their relationship.”
“I would expect the evidence to be that this meeting was instigated by Jason Palmer. And during that meeting, he asked Ms. Palmer to choose between him and the defendant.”
“He will tell you that he chose the deceased, he chose Jason Palmer, and (Mr. Baziad) was told that and he agreed with the decision.”
The Crown alleged Mr Baziad stabbed Mr Palmer multiple times before dumping his body.
In his opening statement to the jury on Thursday, Mr Hatfield said Mr Baziad allegedly killed Mr Palmer at his Lakemba flat either late on Friday, February 6, 2004, or in the early hours of the next morning.
It is alleged Mr Palmer hit her in the head with a glass object and then stabbed her in the torso, side and back.
It is alleged he wrapped Mr Palmer’s body in a sleeping bag, weighed it down with stones and threw it into the Nepean River.
Although both were in a relationship with Ms Palmer, the court was told Mr Palmer and Mr Baziad were friends and often drank together.
Traces of blood were found in the corridor, on the floor and on the walls of Mr. Baziad’s apartment.
The court was also told that an estate agent discovered a significant section of carpet was missing from the flat after Mr Baziad moved out.
When Mr Palmer’s murder was first investigated in 2004, Mr Baziad was one of the suspects, but not the only one.
The jury was told he left Australia on March 28, 2004 and did not return to the country for years.
He was arrested in 2024 and charged with the murder of Mr. Palmer.
The hearing before Judge Phillip Boulten continues.
