WARNING: This story contains descriptions of domestic violence. Discretion is advised.
A Sydney, Australia, man has been found guilty of murdering a B.C. woman in her apartment in 2023.
Danny Zayat was charged with the killing of his ex-girlfriend, 34-year-old Tatiana Dokhotaru. Dokhotaru moved to Australia in 2012, and the couple had a son together.
Dokhotaru’s body was found in an apartment in the Liverpool suburb on May 27, 2023, one day after she was killed, according to the New South Wales Police Force.
Zayat’s cries were captured on a police body camera after returning to the murder scene roughly 21 hours after Dokhotaru was found dead.
“I shouldn’t have left her. She’s been so depressed. She’s been so depressed,” Zayat can be heard saying on the body camera footage.
The couple’s four-year-old son, removed by Australian police before Zayat spilled his version of events, claimed that Dokhotaru was troubled before she died.
He said she had taken “tablets, (she was) drunk, stumbling, she was saying I want to kill myself.”
The jury was not convinced and 30-year-old Zayat was found guilty on Thursday of murdering the former Vancouverite.
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“I was screaming… jumping up and down, Dokhotaru’s friend Amber Haleta told Global News.
Haleta flew from B.C. to Australia to testify about the death threats and abuse she says her dear friend suffered even after getting a domestic violence restraining order against Zayat in 2022.
They would have their last argument in Dokhotaru’s Sydney apartment in May 2023, when she called for help.
The 000 call heard Dokhotaru say, “Yes, hi. My ex-boyfriend’s here and he’s trying to kill me… My ex-husband’s stealing my money from the house… he’s bashing me.”
After that, the line went dead. Dokhotaru’s phone was thrown off the balcony, according to police.
According to the evidence presented at trial, Zayat left and returned the next morning when he called 000, the emergency line.
The child was left with his mother’s body the entire time.
The little boy, who is now six years old was the only eyewitness to testify.
“He said ‘daddy was angry. Daddy was angry’,” Haleta said.
“He was asked, ‘When was the last time mommy’s eyes were open? He said, the day before we were playing together. I couldn’t wake mommy up. I couldn’t wake mommy up’,” Haleta added.
Haleta told Global News the pathologist testified her friend died after suffering multiple blunt force trauma injuries to the head.
She’s shocked it took police more than three hours to show up with officers leaving because they didn’t have a unit number.
Zayat will be sentenced for murder in December.
Haleta will be travelling back to Australia at that time to deliver her victim impact statement.
“We’re finally able to breathe a little bit, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that this beautiful, smart, loving mother… is not here anymore,” Haleta said.
— With files from Rumina Daya, Global News
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
