A man found guilty of murder more than ten years ago will be freed thanks to a late confession, ambiguous DNA evidence, and a vacated conviction.
Wassim Tiriaki, waiting to be sentenced for the second time for the murder of Matthew Hedges, waved to family members while wearing a blue suit and white shirt in the public gallery.
In 2011, during a robbery in Chester Hill in Sydney’s west, Tiriaki was found guilty in 2014 of killing Hedges.
The victim was shot in the chest at close range through the window of his home as part of a “joint criminal enterprise” to abduct and assault the property’s residents.
After that, Tiriaki was given a 28-year prison term, of which 20 years were served without the possibility of release.
Despite the fact that the Crown’s case against both of them was characterised as “circumstantial” in light of the DNA evidence connecting them to the crime, Salim Tabbah, his co-accused, was at the time sentenced to 14 years in prison, 10 of which were without the possibility of parole, for manslaughter due to his involvement in Hedge’s death.
Two years following their trials, Tabbah acknowledged that he had fired the revolver that had killed Hedges in 2016. Three more admissions and an affidavit from 2021—which formed the basis of Tiriaki’s conviction—were made that same year.
Tiriaki had completed over half of his non-parole period by that point.
He entered a guilty plea despite the fact that his co-accused was found guilty and received the same sentence for manslaughter, even though he had been arraigned for murder twice already this year.
Tiriaki was given an 11-year, eight-month prison sentence by Judge Stephen Rothman on Friday. He will be eligible for release on February 5, 2024, given the time he has already spent.
Judge Rothman of the NSW Supreme Court emphasised Tiriaki’s guilty plea, his strong likelihood of rehabilitation and reform, and his “immaturity”—he was 21 years old at the time of the murder—as the “special circumstances” that led to the sentence reduction.
His sentence is set to expire on December 5, 2029. Tiriaki grinned once more and gave his family a thumbs up as he walked off the dock.
