After Tara Brown, 24, dropped off their 3-year-old daughter at a Molendinar daycare centre on September 8, 2015, she was brutally murdered by her ex-partner Lionel Patea.
Patea chased Tara, ran her car off the road, and beat her nearly 30 times with a steel hydrant cover while she was confined inside her flipping car.
The couple had been dating since 2011 and shared a daughter, age 3.
Since then, the findings of Queensland’s deputy state coroner Jane Bentley have been made public, providing startling new details about the circumstances surrounding Ms. Brown’s passing.
The accusations state that Patea repeatedly struck the young woman and encouraged Bandidos members to assault one of her friends who he thought she was having sex with.
In September 2015, Patea was sentenced to 20 years in prison after confessing to the murder of Tara Brown. Twenty-seven lethality risk indicators were present at the time of Ms. Brown’s death, according to the data.
By June 2012, Ms. Brown had broken up with Patea and was living with her mother.
Patea called Brown 30 times and texted her 12 times on July 12, 2012. She alleged that daily threats totaling hundreds of texts and calls were made to her in the days leading up to her murder.
According to the study, Patea used to call her often when they weren’t together and has a history of being very envious.
He paid for her to stay in motels apart from the rest of the team when she travelled for touch football games with her male teammates.
Patea also made an effort to exert control over every aspect of her life. She was only left with $8 after he required her to pay rent in exchange for staying in his home and occasionally withdrew money from her account.
Patea was a leading suspect in the murder because of his history of assaulting Ms. Brown, his threats to end his life, and his efforts to keep her away from her friends and family.
When Patea showed up at the hospital where Ms. Brown was giving birth in May 2012, he made a threat to sever her mother’s neck because he thought she had “ignored” him. Tara called the police right away to report the violence.
In addition, Patea was charged with pushing Ms. Brown down the stairs, strangling her while she was pregnant, and threatening to beat her brother and slash their dog’s neck.
When she stopped at a gas station to buy a chocolate bar in another incident, Patea became so enraged that he nearly tore off her dress, spat at her, threw a bucket at her, and called her a “putrid dog mongrel s**t.”
Ms. Brown claimed that while she was too afraid to lodge a formal complaint, her spouse had broken her windscreen and threatened her with a revolver.
According to Ms. Bentley, the investigating officer, Ms. Brown, went to the police to ask for a domestic violence protection order five days prior to her passing on September 3.
Despite her cries for help, one officer testified to an internal investigation that it was “commonplace for women to make false allegations to further their position in Family Court matters.”
The state coroner claims that Brown also observed a member of Patea’s family outside the station and expressed concern that they might be watching her.
Ms. Brown also revealed that while she was being restrained on the bed, Patea had threatened her with scissors.
He noted that Mr. Patea did not push her violently onto the bed, but scissors did come out of his pocket after he did.
Ms. Brown refused to sign a statement outlining what took place.
On September 8, 2015, the day of Ms. Brown’s murder, Patea had just dropped off her three-year-old daughter Aria at daycare when she chased after her hatchback in a four-wheel-drive.
Ms. Brown was ultimately trapped inside the flipping car after Patea rear-ended her vehicle, sending her tumbling down an embankment.
He repeatedly struck her head with a 7.8 kg metal block he had picked up off the side of the road, causing “non-survivable” brain lesions.
Over the phone, emergency personnel heard more than a dozen “thumping” noises as they helplessly listened to the mother’s cries for help.
After learning that Ms. Brown had been meeting with another man, Patea threatened her with scissors to the throat in the days before she passed away.
In front of a crowded Brisbane courtroom in 2017, Lionel Patea admitted to killing his ex-girlfriend Tara Brown.
Former Bandidos bikie Patea, 25, changed his plea and admitted murder as a packed Brisbane supreme court witnessed Brown’s trial, which was set to last for a week.
He was dressed in a blue suit and black tie, and his hands were restrained. He showed no emotion as Brown’s mother, Natalie Hinton, described the “monster” who killed her daughter in front of the court.
Patea asserted that his family, who had pushed him to own up to his actions, had supported him wholeheartedly when he pleaded guilty.
In a statement read in front of the jury by his lawyer Campbell McCallum, Patea said: “I do not intend to cause Tara’s family any additional suffering or delay their pursuit of justice. Without hesitation, I accept the punishment that the legal system has given me today. Finally, I will appear before God for judgement. I understand that Tara and I will never be absolved of our crimes. For Tara’s family today, I hope to avert any additional potential suffering and pain.
