Mother’s pain as crazed killer admits dumping her daughter’s body in bushland grave but insists he didn’t murder her

Susan Iramiyan will never forget her daughter, nor the agonizing wait to find her remains after she was brutally murdered by a volatile and abusive lover.

Mayraum Hamka disappeared without a trace after a trip to her local Woolworths in April 2021.

The 36-year-old’s family lived in hope that she would be found alive for almost two and a half years before her then boyfriend Toby Peter Loughnane led police to her remains in a shallow grave in nearby bushland.

The 44-year-old admitted to disposing of her Mrs Hamka’s body, but insisted he did not kill her and that she had died of an accidental drug overdose.

However, he was found guilty of her murder after a three-week trial earlier this year, before appearing at a pre-sentence hearing in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday afternoon.

Loughnane appeared disinterested in the proceedings as he leaned back in his chair and looked around the large courtroom during his appearance.

His lawyer, Daniel Sala, told the court that Loughnane maintained he was innocent of murder and that Ms Hamka died as a result of a drug overdose.

Her mother Susan Iramiyan lived for almost two years hoping she would be found alive

Prosecutors argued she died as a result of a drug-fueled attack with “homicidal intent” in the early hours of April 11, 2021, before Loughnane moved and buried her body days later.

But due to the condition her body was found in, no mechanism of death could be determined.

Prosecutor Kristie Churchill claimed there was sufficient evidence the pair had a “brief romantic relationship characterized by control, violence and abuse.”

The court was told that Loughnane had sent ‘highly offensive and threatening’ text messages to Ms Hamka in the 12 months before she was murdered.

“It is a more serious example of murder because it takes place in a context of violence and threats,” Churchill said.

“He violently murdered her on the night in question and… tried to cover up his involvement in her murder through extreme actions.”

But Ms Churchill said the prosecutor was not seeking a life sentence.

Ms Hamka’s ex-boyfriend Toby Loughnane has been found guilty of murder

Ms Hamka was last seen on CCTV leaving a Woolworths supermarket in Brunswick on April 10 and was reported missing by her family days later.

In a statement to the court, her mother, Susan Iramiyan, said her daughter had “so much love for life.”

‘I feel guilty even when I enjoy life; I am hurt, angry and numb. Every day I think about the pain my daughter endured and it shatters my heart all over again,” she said.

Ms Iramiyan said she left the home they once shared because the memories were too painful and she dreamed that her daughter was screaming for help.

“We waited two long years to bring her home to us,” she wrote.

‘No words can ever explain the pain and suffering… I would never wish it on anyone.’

Her brother said that while no punishment would bring his sister back, it was his “intense hope” that holding Loughnane accountable for his actions would provide some closure.

Ms Hamka was captured on CCTV leaving a Woolworths supermarket in downtown Brunswick on April 10, 2021. It was the last time she was seen alive.

During the trial, Loughnane claimed Ms Hamka died of a drugs overdose at his home in Brighton, and that he panicked and threw away her body, fearing he would be wrongly blamed.

He denied murdering Ms Hamka and offered to plead guilty to the lesser charge of negligent homicide.

On Friday, Mr Sala revealed that Loughnane had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter ahead of the trial in March, but this was rejected by the prosecution.

“He had been violent and as a result of that violence she died,” the lawyer said of the offer, which was not presented to the jury.

Loughnane admits dumping girlfriend’s body but insists he didn’t kill her

Mr Sala told the court his client was the eldest of three brothers with a good childhood, but had fallen into drugs and poverty after the death of his father.

Ms Hamka’s body was found covered in lime in a remote woodland area near Cape Schnack on the Mornington Peninsula after Loughnane led police to the area in August 2023.

A fracture to her skull was explained by his legal team as a result of her being dragged through the woods, rather than as evidence of a violent attack during the trial.

Judge Christopher Beale told the court it appeared the disclosure was ‘self-serving’ and not evidence of remorse as Loughnane knew a former friend, Oscar Newman, had come forward to police with information.

The family of Ms Hamka (pictured) say they will never be able to recover from her tragic death

“I’m not convinced of any remorse at this stage,” he said.

“In a case like this, where more than two years have passed and it only occurred after Oscar Newman implicated your client.”

But Judge Beale said Loughnane would receive a reduced sentence for leading police to her remains because there is ‘real value’ in encouraging others to help police in this way.

Loughnane will be sentenced on December 18.