Courts lifted AVO against husband before he ‘speared wife to death’
A Sydney man is accused of murdering his wife with a home-made spear just months after he convinced a court to remove a domestic violence order keeping him out of the family home.
Talaat Hawatt, also known as Terrance Howot, was arrested in Sydney’s west on Wednesday and charged with the murder of his wife Khouloud Bakour Hawatt.
Khouloud Bakour Hawatt was found dead inside her home on Wednesday morning.
Her husband, Talaat, is accused of her murder.Credit: Facebook
Hawatt is suspected of using a knife strapped to a long pole to inflict the deadly attack on the 31-year-old mother-of-five in their Belmore unit.
After a decade of assaults and weapons charges, the 35-year-old landed on the radar of the specialised anti-domestic violence squad Amarok.
Police had taken out apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) against Hawatt to protect Bakour Hawatt, but the latest was watered down at the couple’s request.
A constable from Campsie asked Bankstown Local Court to make an ADVO that ordered Hawatt to stay away from his wife from February 14.
Police cordoned off Knox Street while they investigate Khouloud Bakour Hawatt’s death.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Hawatt was not to contact, assault, threaten, stalk or damage anything belonging to Bakour Hawatt and could only speak to her through a lawyer, according to the interim Valentine’s Day court order.
But in April Hawatt asked for the ADVO to be varied so he could move back into the home. Bankstown Local Court in August changed the ADVO so Hawatt could return and have contact with his wife.
