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Friday, January 20, 2023
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ANOTHER WOMAN KILLED IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SHAME
THIS NEEDS TO STOP Police at the Cranebrook property where Paul Sultana was arrested on Tuesday. Photo: Melinda Jane.
TROY DODDS & EMILY FESZCZUK
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Police investigate the murder scene on Colless Street on Tuesday.
enrith’s frightening domestic violence crisis has been brought to the fore again with another woman allegedly murdered at the hands of her partner. 28-year-old Dayna Isaac was found dead inside a home on Colless Street in Penrith on Monday afternoon. It is understood she had been dating 32-year-old Paul Sultana for several months after their longterm friendship blossomed into a romance. On Tuesday night, he was charged with her murder after being arrested earlier in the day at a Cranebrook property. He fronted court on Wednesday. Isaac’s death comes just a month after teacher Dannielle Finlay-Jones was killed at nearby Cranebrook, allegedly at the hands of a man she met on a dating app. The cases are unrelated and both remain before the courts. Penrith has long battled a domestic violence problem. NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics data shows there were 1,131 domestic violence related assault incidents in the Penrith Local Government Area (LGA) between October 2021 and September 2022 – more than three every day. On average in Australia, one woman a week is killed by her intimate male partner. Kath Skinner, Chief Executive Officer at Penrith Women’s Health Centre, said the incidence of sexual, domestic and family violence in Australia is in “pandemic proportions”. “When we hear the word ‘pandemic’, we all automatically think of COVID-19; many people may not be aware that according to NSW Police statistics, the Penrith area (Nepean Police Area Command)
Detective Chief Inspector Carlene Mahoney updates the media on this week’s murder.
consistently has the highest number of domestic violence related matters in the state,” she said. “It is not until people hear about it happening in their own local area, or to someone they know or have some connection with, that they realise it is happening locally in their own communities.” Skinner said more funding was needed to make an impact. “For example, funding one or two case workers for a region the size of Penrith is simply inadequate,” she said. “We have multiple high-level strategic plans to address the problem from multiple approaches, but without adequate funding to actually make an impact.” Penrith Women’s Health Centre offers a range of safety and empowerment services and health and wellbeing services as they try to tackle the domestic violence crisis. “We are in the process of setting up a social enterprise – a safe place for women to drop in, grab a coffee, have a massage, see their case manager, have an appointment with our nurse practitioner for their health check or support whilst paying off a fine,” Skinner said. More coverage: See page 5.
Tragic loss: Dayna Isaac.
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