Murder Of Stacey Mitchell
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Stacey Mitchell (June 17, 1990 – 18 December 2006) was a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
-born girl living in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
who was murdered at the age of 16, on 18 December 2006, by couple Jessica Stasinowsky and Valerie Parashumti. She was bludgeoned with a concrete block and
strangled Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...
with a chain. Her corpse was found in a
wheelie bin A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...
shortly afterwards. Stasinowsky and Parashumti had known Mitchell for three days, and claimed they murdered her because they found her irritating.


Murder

Stacey Mitchell was born in
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, but emigrated to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
at the age of 10. At the age of 16, she ran away from her family home and stayed with 19-year-old Parashumti and 21-year-old Stasinowsky. Parashumti was accused by Stasinowsky of flirting with Mitchell. She planned to kill Mitchell to prove to Stasinowsky she was not attracted to her. The three of them spent the evening drinking
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
before Parashumti hit Mitchell over the back of the head with a concrete block. Stasinowsky then
strangled Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hanging ...
her with a dog chain. As she lay dying, the two women kissed over her body and filmed her on a
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
. Earlier attempts to kill Mitchell by Stasinowsky included putting broken glass in her drink and spilling oil on the bathroom floor.


Trial

The two women were tried at the
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
Supreme Court. During the trial they "smiled, giggled and whispered at each other". Parashumti's lawyer stated that she had a severe
personality disorder Personality disorders (PD) are a class of mental disorders characterized by enduring maladaptive patterns of behavior, cognition, and inner experience, exhibited across many contexts and deviating from those accepted by the individual's culture ...
and had grown up with an abusive father. She had also had an obsession with the vampire subculture, and a penchant for drinking people's blood since the age of 10. Parashumti's father had previously been in prison for beating his wife. Both women pleaded guilty, and revealed that after Mitchell's death, they had visited a hardware store to look for a
chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pruning, ...
and some
spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the a ...
s. In 2008, both women were sentenced to strict security
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 24-year minimum term. Stasinowsky subsequently appealed her sentence. Her appeal was unanimously rejected by the WA Court of Appeal. David Ross John Haynes, who also lived with them, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for being an accessory. Although he had been fully aware of the plan to kill Mitchell, he agreed to go to his bedroom and listen to music.


Imprisonment

It was discovered in 2009 that the two women were continuing their relationship in prison, reportedly spending up to 90 minutes together on weekdays, and seven hours a day on weekends. Parashumti was consequently moved to a separate prison. They attempted to maintain contact by sending letters, using fellow inmate
Catherine Birnie David John Birnie (16 February 1951 – 7 October 2005) and Catherine Margaret Birnie (née Harrison; born 23 May 1951) were an Australian couple from Perth, Western Australia, who murdered four women at their home in 1986, and attempted to mur ...
as a go-between. In 2012, three prison officers were injured following their intervention in a fight involving Parashumti and another inmate. In 2013 Parashumti attempted to escape from prison, but failed to leave the grounds. It was reported she would consequently face a police charge.


Other charges

In 2014, 20 charges against Stasinowsky, which pre-dated the murder, were dropped.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Stacey, Murder of 2006 murders in Australia December 2006 crimes December 2006 events in Australia Bullying Child abuse resulting in death Deaths by person in Australia Deaths from asphyxiation Female murder victims Murder in Perth, Western Australia Murdered English children Violence against women in Australia Incidents of violence against girls