"My Ex-Boyfriend Is Trying To Kill Me": Sydney Woman's 911 Call Cut Short

A 34-year-old woman was killed in her Sydney apartment by her ex-partner following a long history of abuse. During the final moments of her life, Tatiana Dokhotaru called 911, telling police, "My ex-boyfriend is here, and he's trying to kill me... He's bashing me," according to The NY Post.

The call was abruptly cut short, after 89 seconds, when Danny Zayat, Dokhotaru's ex-partner, threw her phone from the balcony of her 22nd-floor apartment. 

She couldn't give her location to the police, who arrived at the apartment three hours after the emergency 911 call, but couldn't locate the building the call came from within the block.

Justice Desmond Fagan said, "They left without having gained access to any part of the building or having acquired any further information about the location of the person who had made the call, or the circumstances."

Nearly 20 hours after the original call, police returned around 7 pm the following day. They were still unable to contact Dokhotaru via phone or the building intercom.

The Supreme Court confirmed she died of a brain hemorrhage caused by blunt force trauma to the head. Investigators concluded her death occurred sometime after the 911 call and before early the next morning.

Dokhotaru and Zayat had been in a relationship for five years, beginning in 2017, which ended when she left him in November 2022. The court found that Zayat's physical abuse began around May 2021, including an incident in which he punched and knocked her to the ground in front of a friend.

In April 2022, Dokhotaru opted for a provisional apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) to prevent Zayat from stalking, harassing, or threatening her. When he learned of the order, Zayat reportedly called her, saying, "I'm going to f–king kill you." Despite the ADVO, his verbal and physical abuse continued.

Following their breakup, Zayat became violently jealous when he discovered Dokhotaru was seeing someone else, even strangling her on one occasion. He also invaded her privacy by checking her phone without permission.

Dokhotaru confided in a friend about the assaults, reporting that Zayat dragged her by the hair, spat on her, and threatened to kill her if she contacted police. Her texts read, "It was absolute hell my body is in shock," and "He was spitting in my face... calling me a dirty slut, and he can't wait till he kills me."

On the day of her murder, neighbours heard loud banging, shouting, and "very obscene abuse in a guttural tone" coming from her apartment as Zayat carried out the attack.

Zayat has been sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison for the murder of Dokhotaru. He will be eligible for parole in 2043.