Man found guilty of murder decades after being spurned by love interest in love triangle murder
Updated . First published at
A man has been found guilty of murder after he bludgeoned a romantic rival over the head and threw his body in a river after being spurned by his love interest.
Gofal Baziad was convicted of the 2004 murder of Jason Palmer in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday after a jury took five days to be satisfied he killed the ex-husband of his love interest.
Palmer told his ex-wife Renny to choose between him and Baziad, and she chose her former husband, the court heard.
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Gofal Baziad (pictured) was accused of murdering Jason Palmer, so he could continue a relationship with Palmer's wife Renny. 9News
He was later bludgeoned over the head with a patterned glass object before being stabbed multiple times in the torso, side and back in his Sydney apartment in February 2004.
Baziad, now 54, flew overseas months later and continued to be in contact with Palmer.
He was arrested in 2024 but denied carrying out the murder.
Jason and Renny Palmer were married in 1996 before separating in 2002 after he had an affair, crown prosecutor Brett Hatfield, SC, told the jury during the trial.
In late 2002, she began an intimate relationship with Baziad.
Jason Palmer was murdered and his body was dumped in a river. Supplied
Despite this history, the two men became friends.
In December 2003, the trio met to discuss the situation and Renny was asked to choose between the two men.
When she opted for former husband, Baziad indicated he accepted the decision, the court heard.
But months later, Jason was seen for the last time walking out of his partner's home in Sydney's south-west with Baziad.
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Renny Palmer was married to Jason before linking up with Gofal. Facebook
His body was found just over three weeks later concealed in a sleeping bag and weighed down with rocks in the Nepean River, in the city's west.
In the days after her ex-husband disappeared, Palmer said she made numerous attempts to find him, even calling his drug dealer.
She also tried speaking to one of her husband's friends, called his parents in England and filed a missing person's report with police.
She broke down in tears in the witness box while describing her efforts to locate her ex-husband.
Renny said Baziad had been late collecting her for work the day after the murder.
Baziad's barrister argued there was not enough evidence to convict her client because there were no eyewitnesses and the case was circumstantial.
"You won't be able to be positively satisfied of the ultimate question: has the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Baziad was the person responsible?" Madeleine Avenell SC told the jury.
But the jurors took just over a week to conclude Baziad was ultimately responsible for Mr Palmer's violent death.
Justice Phillip Boulten thanked the jury for their service on Wednesday before convicting Baziad.
He will return to court for sentencing on July 17.
AAP
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