‘Just Say Goodbye’ (January 2013 online edition)

‘Just Say Goodbye’domineering, aggressive and entitled’ in his relationship with Rachelle. 59 Atthe sentencing hearing, the prosecution described Ramazan as an angry man,consumed with hatred for his former partner and that this hatred had overtakenany thought of the welfare of the child. 60Using the child/ren to hurt the motherIt is apparent that Ramazan Acar intended to hurt his ex-partner by killingtheir child. In sentencing Ramazan Acar, Justice Curtain said ‘You committedthis murder for the worst possible motives: revenge and spite. You killed yourdaughter to get back at her mother. You used your daughter, an innocentvictim, as the instrument of your overarching desire to inflict pain on yourformer partner’. 61One or more of these three factors – intimate partner violence, angerregarding separation and killing the child/ren to hurt the mother – are evidentin each of the following cases in this chapter.Intimate partner violence in filicideAs outlined in Chapter 3, research indicates that violence against an intimatepartner is a factor in many filicides. However, few studies have explored theimpact and role that prior partner violence plays in filicides. This may bebecause homicide research generally focuses on the nature of the relationshipbetween the perpetrator and the victim who is killed. It is also the case that filicidestudies are often quantitative and rely on information from official recordsthat may be of limited value in relation to the history of intimate partnerviolence.Carolyn Johnson’s qualitative research provides valuable insights into theissue of intimate partner violence and the limitations of existing research.Johnson’s (2005) study of fathers who killed their children in the context ofseparation in Western Australia (outlined in Chapter 3) involved speakingto family survivors of the filicides. Johnson found that a history of violencewas a significant factor in all the cases for which she was able toascertain information about the couple’s relationship before the filicide (2005).In six of the seven cases there was evidence of prior violence against thechildren’s mother. Most of the women were subject to death threats fromtheir partner and one woman was shot but survived. The relationships werecharacterised by male dominance and control, and all the men were described59 R v Acar [2011] VSC 310 (para 49).60 R v Acar [2011] VSC 310 (para 58).61 R v Acar [2011] VSC 310 (para 61).41