Massimo 'Max' Sica is a convicted triple

murderer Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, having been found guilty of killing his former girlfriend Neelma Singh, and her siblings Kunal and Sidhi in April 2003. Sica is from an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

family. Prior to the murders, he had numerous criminal convictions, including unlawful possession of a firearm and

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

Singh Murders

At 2.30pm on Tuesday April 22, 2003, Sica made an emergency call from 20 Grass Tree Close, Bridgeman Downs in Brisbane's north, where police arrived to find bodies of Singh siblings Neelma Singh, aged 24, Kunal Singh, aged 18, and Sidhi Singh, aged 12. All three had been murdered in their own home while their parents were in

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

. Sidhi had been dumped in an upstairs spa bath that was still bubbling. Piping hot water was pouring into the bath from its taps, overflowing to such an extent that the ceiling of the floor below had buckled. Blood trails led from their bedrooms to the spa. The sibling's parents Shirley and Vijay Singh asked

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

to remove Max Sica from their children's funeral service. On 30 December 2008 Sica was formally charged with all three murders after a five and a half year investigation. The following year, Sica applied for bail twice, but was refused on both occasions. An appeal of the second refusal of bail was unsuccessful. In April 2010, Sica was committed to stand trial for the murders. Sica pleaded not guilty to the murders. Before the trial, Sica's defence had applied under s590AA of the Criminal Code to have the evidence of Andrea Bowman of an admission of guilt by Sica excluded, however that application was dismissed. On 31 January 2012 his trial began. On 3 July, the jury found Sica guilty of three counts of murder. On 5 July 2012, Sica was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, with a non-parole period of 35 years, the most severe sentence handed down in Queensland history. The sentencing remarks of Justice Byrne were scathing, describing Sica as "manipulative and deceitful", noting he had "no remorse whatsoever. Your only anxiety is for self-preservation". Sica filed an appeal against his convictions on 27 July 2012. On 2 September 2013, the appeal was dismissed.

Child sex charges

Sica was also charged with 21 sex offences, including two counts of rape and one of maintaining a sexual relationship with a child between 15 November 2004 and 10 September 2008. These charges were heard in the

District Court of Queensland The District Court of Queensland (QDC) is the second tier in the court hierarchy of Queensland, Australia. The Court deals with serious criminal offences such as rape, armed robbery and fraud. Juries are used to decide if defendants are guilty ...

in a judge-only trial. Sica had sought and was granted a judge-only trial due to the widespread adverse publicity he received in relation to the murder of the Singh siblings. On 8 March 2013 Sica was found not guilty on all 21 counts. Judge Shanahan found that he could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the penetrative acts occurred as described by the complainant, remarking that "The complainant’s account of numerous acts of penetration having occurred since she was 9 years of age is not only not supported by the medical evidence, it makes her account highly unlikely".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sica, Massimo Australian people convicted of murder Australian people of Italian descent Living people Australian prisoners sentenced to multiple life sentences People convicted of murder by Queensland Year of birth missing (living people) 2003 murders in Australia