Sarah Gatt: Jealous man kept ex’s body in bathtub for months after killing her over lesbian affair
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA: A Melbourne man allegedly murdered his ex-girlfriend in a jealous rage, and left her body to rot in her bathtub for more than 8 months, prosecutors told an Australian court. Sarah Gatt's decaying body was reportedly discovered at her Kensington residence when local police conducted a welfare check in January 2018.
The first responders found the 40-year-old’s semi-naked body inside a bathtub, wrapped in power cords and covered with household objects. The investigators believe she was murdered eight months earlier, in April 2017. Following the initial investigation, police alleged that Gatt's ex, Andrew Baker, 55, killed her after she ended their relationship in 2016 to start a new one with a woman. Baker is currently facing a trial in the Supreme Court of Victoria and denies murdering his former lover, according to DailyMail.
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Prosecutor John Dickie told jurors at the opening of the trial on Tuesday, Friday 14 that Gatt and Baker’s two-and-a-half-year-long on-and-off relationship was 'intense, turbulent and, at times, violent' and that when Gatt left him, Baker became driven by 'jealousy and anger'. The court also heard that Gatt had fallen on hard times, battling mental health and drug issues, and even lived in public housing on a disability pension.
When Andrew Baker killed Sarah Gatt?
Prosecutors allege Baker murdered Gatt a month before her 40th birthday and three months later, bizarrely invited a group of people to her home 'to witness his discovery of a body'. Leona Rei-Paku, the woman whom Gatt chose over Baker, also attended the gathering and saw a foot sticking out of the bathtub. However, none of the attendees reported the horrific discovery to the police, who found her body in a state of 'extreme decomposition' five months later.
Dickie also asserted that Baker informed friends after Gatt's death that he was back with her but she was away in a mental hospital. Baker even created fake text messages and love letters to support his claims. The prosecutor further alleged that Baker collected Gatt's Centrelink payments for months after she died.
What was the cause of Sarah Gatt's death?
However, Baker’s barrister John Saunders shielded him from accusation of wrongdoing and questioned how the Crown could prove his client inflicted injuries on Gatt with the intent of killing or even seriously harming her. Police discovered blood in several locations inside Gatt's home on Lambeth Street in Kensington, however, they were unable to determine the exact nature of her injuries or the cause of death. "How can you conclude that Ms. Gatt did not receive injuries from an accident?" Saunders asked the court, acknowledging reports she had drugs in her system.