Original source (on modern site)
A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to four years in jail after punching his young girlfriend 40 times in the head in Perth's CBD. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Some readers may find details in this story distressing. Aaron Leyton Wumi beat the mother-of-one, referred to by her cultural name Nyaparu, for up to eight minutes at Yagan Square in front of bystanders in the early hours of December 15, 2022. The horrific attack ensued after Nyaparu woke Wumi, who fell asleep in the square after the pair had been drinking with their family. The Perth District Court on Thursday heard Wumi struck the 24-year-old woman's head against the wall several times and continued to punch and kick her after she fell to the ground. Wumi stomped on her head about five times during the attack, which was captured by nearby CCTV, and had also ripped off her shirt. Nyaparu fled towards a nearby car park on Wellington Street but Wumi followed her and attacked her again, punching and choking her. Nyaparu, 24, was attacked by her partner in the Perth CBD in late December 2022.(Supplied) A witness yelled at Wumi to leave the woman alone, after which he left the scene. Nyaparu was found unresponsive by her family, including a 14-year-old child, around an hour later. When paramedics arrived, they formed a view that she was alive but in cardiac arrest. They began CPR but Nyaparu died at the scene. A post-mortem showed Nyaparu suffered soft tissue damage from the attack but died as a result of a heart attack. Wumi was arrested later that night. During an interview with police, he admitted hitting her because he was jealous she had left him alone earlier that night. He told police he wanted to "hurt her but didn't mean to kill her". The court was told there was no evidence that the assault had directly or indirectly caused Nyaparu's death. Wumi was charged with intent to harm, omitted to do any act that it was the person's duty to do or did any act as a result of which the life, health and safety of any person was or was likely to be endangered. The court was told the Martu couple had been together for four years and were from the remote northern Aboriginal community of Jigalong in the Pilbara region. Wumi, who sat in the dock with his head hung low for most of the hearing, pleaded guilty to his charge on Thursday. Police in Yagan Square in Perth on December 15, 2022, after the suspicious death of a woman in the CBD overnight.(ABC News: Tabarak Al Jrood) His lawyer told the court Wumi felt extremely remorseful for what he did and read out a statement from her client to the court. "I'm sad … I'm love sick for her, I would like to tell her mum I'm sorry for what I had done," the statement read. "I didn't mean it to happen that way. I think the alcohol just got the best of me." The court heard the 28-year-old was previously convicted for snapping a broomstick over the head of his former partner. Wumi told police he wanted to hand himself over to his community for tribal punishment. The court heard Nyaparu's family indicated the tribal punishment would happen after he was released from prison. Judge Wendy Hughes told Wumi it was "just by pure luck" his girlfriend's injuries from the beating were not more serious. In her sentencing remarks she accepted Wumi's remorse but said his actions were serious domestic violence. The District Court in Perth heard the case was a serious example of domestic violence.(ABC News: Glyn Jones) "At your hands, she was being assaulted and humiliated, by a person that is supposed to care and love her," Judge Hughes told Wumi. "She was hurt away from her family and away from Country, where her family could not keep her safe." Judge Huges told Wumi his behaviour must change. "Mr Wumi this has got to stop. Stop the drink, do the time, get back on country, listen to your elders," she said. "The women in your community must be respected. They are not a punching bag for your anger." Wumi's four-year prison sentence will be backdated to when he was brought into custody in 2022. He will be eligible for parole after serving half of that sentence. Nyaparu's mother Lorraine Rawlins said the pain of losing her daughter was still very raw. She said it was particularly tough on her eight-year-old grandson, who would have to grow up without a mother. Nyaparu's mother, Lorraine Rawlins (left) and relatives.(ABC News: Daryna Zadvirna) "He talks about her all the time," she said. "Looking for mum, asking when she is coming home … it breaks my heart, you know, I was really torn." Nyaparu's family said the judge's comments did not reflect the four-year sentence she imposed. The maximum jail term for the offence Wumi was convicted of is 20 years. He will eligible for parole at the end of this year as his sentence was backdated to when he was brought into custody in 2022. "It just shows they can get away with it," Nyaparu's brother-in-law Michael Rickard said. Michael Rickard (right) wants his late sister-in-law to be remembered for her joyfulness.(ABC News: Daryna Zadvirna) "He obviously hasn't learned from his first [domestic violence conviction] … and then the next woman is the next victim. "We wanted Nyaparu to be remembered as a happy person, not somebody that got beaten on the streets." Loading Posted 2 May 20242 May 2024Thu 2 May 2024 at 5:58am, updated 4 May 20244 May 2024Sat 4 May 2024 at 6:22amVictim died at the scene
'I didn't mean to kill'
Request for tribal punishment
Serious act of domestic violence, judge
Son left without a mother
Family says justice not done