Moments after Melbourne body builder Sven Lindemann strangled, stabbed and dragged his ex-partner, Monique Lezsak, through their Melbourne home, the 52-year-old took out his phone, opened his banking app, and transferred $71,000 between two accounts to protect his assets.
The day before, on May 29, 2023, Ms Lezsak had attempted to end her relationship with Lindemann, texting a mutual friend she was “nervous about returning home,” and scared he would “do something stupid”.
Jailing Lindemann to 31 years imprisonment on Wednesday, with no hope of parole until he is in his late 70s, Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth described the horrific murder as a “determined,” and “violent and frenzied” attack.
In addition to the charge of murder, Lindemann had also pleaded guilty to recklessly injuring Ms Lezsak’s 10-year-old daughter, who was known to the court under the pseudonym Lily.
Handing down the sentence, Justice Hollingworth noted Lindemann’s actions after his rampage were “particularly calculated”.
“It demonstrates a concern for the financial position of yourself or your children, rather than the welfare of Ms Lezsak, Lily or their family members,” she said, batting away attempts by Lindemann’s lawyers to suggest he was “frazzled,” and not thinking clearly at the time.
“I reject that submission. It was an entirely rational act, motivated by personal interest, and requiring a series of logical steps to log onto a device and make the transfer”.
Brutal frenzied attack lasted three minutes
While the horrific attack lasted only about three minutes, Lindemann used a total of six knives to kill Ms Lezsak, breaking two of them with the force of his lunges.
At about 7.30am, Lindemann overheard Ms Lezsak speaking to a Queensland man she had developed feelings for after they met on an interstate trip, the court heard.
Although Lindemann had first learned of the Queensland man, and sent him a series of increasingly threatening messages, the night before, overhearing the conversation sent him to a violent rage.
“You immediately started attacking Ms Lezsak in the master bedroom. Her screams were so loud that they were recorded on a neighbour’s CCTV,” said Justice Hollingworth.
Ms Lezsak’s body was dragged from the master bedroom to the kitchen, and then to the dining room. In total she suffered a total of seven stab wounds and 10 slash wounds across her head, neck and chest.
“After inflicting your final stab wound, you left Ms Lezsak on the floor, fatally injured,” said Justice Hollingworth.
“You left Lily distraught and injured, covered in her own and her mother’s blood.”
Judge’s hope for victim’s daughter
Handing down her sentence, Justice Hollingworth also praised the brave actions of Ms Lezsak’s then 10-year-old daughter, Lily.
Lily managed to wrestle two knives from Lindemann during his attack on her mother, suffering knife injuries to her hands, elbows and shoulders.
Attempting to intervene in the attack, at one point Lily screamed: “Leave my mother alone,” before dialling triple-0.
“Given your (Lindemann’s) relative size and strength, and the persistent and frenzied nature of your stabbing movements, it is only by sheer luck that Lily was not more seriously injured,” said the judge.
Justice Hollingworth said Lily’s “unbelievably brave” act was more than what “most adults would have been able to do in such terrifying circumstances”.
“Hopefully, as she grows up, Lily will come to understand that there was nothing more that she could have done to save her mother, who would have been so very proud of Lily’s courage and determination,” she said.
Speaking to reporters after the sentencing hearing, Ms Lezsak’s supporters said her children would continue being supported by friends and family.
Killer motived by ‘jealousy, rage, sense of entitlement’
Speaking to Lindemann’s temperament, Judge Hollingworth noted friends and family had noticed the killer’s “growing signs” of “jealousy and conflict,” centred around his insecurity about Ms Lezsak’s interactions with other men, and how she parented her children.
Ultimately, Lindemann’s actions here “motivated by jealousy, rage and a sense of entitlement,” the judge said.
Justice Hollingworth also questioned Lindemann’s remorse over his actions, detailing conversations in which he blamed Ms Lezsak for his spiral into a murderous rage.
While being transported to hospital for self-inflicted injuries, Lindemann told paramedics Ms Lezsak had “ruined” his life.
Recorded conversations between him and his parents from prison played to the court also show Lindemann blaming Ms Lezsak.
“Apart from any remorse which is inherent in your plea of guilty, I do not accept that you are genuinely remorseful for your terrible actions,” said Justice Hollingworth.
“Although you have made several statements about being sorry for what happened, on close analysis they are not evidence of genuine contrition, because you still lack insight into your actions or genuinely accept responsibility for them.
“You are clearly sorry for finding yourself facing a very long prison sentence.”
The court sees ‘too many like you’
Lindemann’s actions, “the murder of a domestic partner” was described during his sentencing as the “most extreme form of family violence”.
“Family violence is a serious problem in our community,” said Justice Hollingworth, who quoted statistics from the Victorian Court of Appeal which noted that domestic violence is the leading cause of illness, disability, and death among Victorian women between 15 and 44.
“All too frequently, courts are faced with male offenders like you, who are unable or unwilling to accept that their relationship is over, or that their partner has a right to move on with their life, and who respond with anger, jealousy and violence.”
And while Lindemann faces the next 31 years of his life in jail, as acknowledged by Ms Lezsak’s close friend Jacqueline Schwarcz, no amount of punishment would bring back the beloved mum.
“We are horrified and devastated by the actions that Sven has chosen to do to our beloved Monique,” she told reporters outside of court.
“There is no excuse for such actions, there is no amount of punishment that will be enough or replace our loss.”
Instead she hoped Lindemann’s sentencing was symbolic of a united front against domestic violence.
“Let it be clear, a clear message that we as Australians will not accept domestic violence, it will not go unseen and it will not go unpunished,” she said.