A robber responsible for stabbing a man and leaving him to die in the arms of his terminally ill mother will spend decades in prison.
Viliami Taufahema was convicted in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday after a jury previously found him guilty of murdering 29-year-old Luke Lembryk during a botched home invasion in Sydney’s west in 2019.
Two co-offenders – Bilal Rahim and Lisa Anne Price – involved in the armed robbery were also jailed, while Joseph Nehme is still awaiting sentence after also being found guilty of murder and assault with intent to rob.
The incident stemmed from a Tinder date between Price and Lembryk four months earlier, when the woman spotted bundles of cash and drugs in his property.
After Price told Nehme about the money and drugs and how to get into the house, he recruited Rahim to take Taufahema there and assist him in the attempted robbery.
Lembryk was stabbed five times after refusing to hand over the money and died in his mother’s arms.
She later died of cancer.
Judge Sarah McNaughton was unable to determine which of the two home invaders inflicted the fatal stab wound.
Luke Lembryk, 29 (pictured right) was killed during a botched home invasion in Sydney’s west in 2019
But Taufahema clearly foresaw the prospect of causing grievous bodily harm when he forced his way into the house late at night, she said, making him liable for the murder.
Judge McNaughton noted that Lembryk’s last words to a police officer were: “I’m dying, they stabbed me.”
Taufahema was sentenced to 23 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 16 years and six months.
Price, who was found guilty of manslaughter, assault with intent to rob and aggravated burglary, was jailed for eight years with a non-parole period of four years and six months.
Mr Lembryk was stabbed twice after refusing to hand over the money to the intruders (photo police and emergency services on the scene after the incident)
One of the more serious burglary charges involved an attack on Lembryk’s mother during the home invasion.
After meeting Lembryk on Tinder four months before the attack, Price saw bundles of cash worth between $10,000 and $20,000 at his home, along with a “golf ball’s worth” of cocaine.
She was desperate for money and about to be evicted from her own home when she passed the information to Nehme, Judge McNaughton said.
Rahim, who drove Taufahema to work and acted as a lookout throughout, was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison, with a non-parole period of five years and two months.
The incident stemmed from a Tinder date between Lisa Anne Price (pictured) and Mr Lembryk, when the woman spotted bundles of cash and drugs in his property.
He was found guilty of manslaughter, assault with intent to rob and aggravated burglary.
Rahim showed an “unconditional and immediate” willingness to be involved when Nehme asked him, likely because of his drug addiction, Judge McNaughton said.
She discovered that Rahim would have anticipated possible resistance as soon as they entered the house and knew that Nehme had a knife with him.
Lembryk’s father previously told the court that there was no adequate punishment that would right the wrong of his son’s death.
It was particularly heartbreaking that his terminally ill wife spent her final days mourning the 29-year-old, he said.
Judgments on Nehme’s sentencing will be heard on Monday.