The horrific moment a ten-year-old child desperately tried to save her mother as her estranged partner stabbed her to death has played out in court.
Sven Lindemann, a Melbourne fitness fanatic who grew up in Germany, brutally stabbed 39-year-old Monique Lezsak to death as her distraught child fought to save her.
The hulking brute had gone into a blind rage after Monique, a talented bodybuilder in her own right, dared to break up with him.
Ms Lezsak was stabbed to death by Sven Lindemann in May 2023
Melbourne bodybuilder Sven Lindemann posted on Instagram that he was an “alpha male”, writing days before Ms Lezsak’s stabbing death “don’t forget you are going to die… and you don’t know when”
Lindemann covered his head with a jacket as he arrived at the Supreme Court of Victoria in a police van
Family and friends of Monique Lezsak leave the Supreme Court of Victoria
Lindemann, 51, appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday for a hearing after pleading guilty to murdering Ms Lezsak and injuring the little girl, named Lilly for legal reasons.
The cowardly killer quickly drew the ire of Judge Elizabeth Hollingworth when a summary of his evil actions was read out to the court.
Judge Hollingworth was forced to halt proceedings to scold Lindemann, who she said tried to disrupt the hearing by pretending to show remorse.
‘Will the suspect sit up? Come on. Stop the crocodile tears,” she told him. “You have shown no real remorse.
‘Please don’t sob loudly in the back of the room to distract us. I’m not convinced that you have any remorse whatsoever.
‘I’ve seen the evidence. Please stop interrupting us.”
Judge Hollingworth told the court that Lindemann wasted his time by claiming he now regretted his actions.
“He kept getting louder and louder and that’s not acceptable,” she added. “It’s not exactly convincing and it’s a little late for him to pretend to be remorseful.”
The court heard of Lindemann’s intense jealousy when he learned Ms Lezsak – his partner of four years – had struck up a relationship with another fitness fanatic from Queensland.
The hard-working mother of twins had decided to break up with Lindemann after becoming fed up with his bad behavior, especially directed at her children, both of whom had special needs.
Monique Lezsak (photo) died after being stabbed to death in her own home
On May 21 last year, Ms Lezsak told him their relationship was over. The court heard she immediately raised concerns about what he might do.
The estranged couple was still alive with Mrs. Lezsak family home in Endeavor Hills, in Melbourne‘s southeast, at the moment.
Lindemann had already begun threatening her interstate love interest, telling friends that Ms. Lezsak had “ruined his life.”
On May 30, while still living under the same roof, Lindemann unleashed his murderous attack.
At 7.32am, the sound of Ms Lezsak’s terrifying screams was recorded by a neighbour’s CCTV cameras.
Young Lilly was with her brother in the living room talking to their grandmother when they heard the screams.
By the time the boy ran into the bedroom, Lindemann had stabbed her mother so hard that the knife broke.
“Lilly then saw the perpetrator punch and strangle the deceased and drag her out of the bathroom,” Crown prosecutor Kristie Churchill said.
“Lilly tried to intervene when her mother screamed and the perpetrator dragged Ms. Lezsak into the kitchen.”
Sven Lindemann, Ms Lezsak’s estranged partner, slaughtered her in front of her two children
The children’s grandmother suffers from Parkinson’s disease and didn’t stand a chance against the brute.
“Leave my mother alone,” Lilly shouted as Lindemann grabbed another knife.
“You ruined my life,” Lindemann shouted as he stabbed Ms Lezsak on the kitchen floor.
The court heard Lilly kicked Lindemann and tried to block his knife attacks, suffering multiple cuts.
“She managed to kick him and take the knife away,” Mrs Churchill said.
“However, the perpetrator found another knife and stabbed the deceased in the chest, breaking the blade.”
The brave child managed to disarm him again after grabbing another knife before dragging her mother into the dining room to continue his attack.
“He continued to stab her while Lilly got between the perpetrator and her mother and tried to stop the attack,” Ms Churchill said.
‘Lilly was able to stop the attack twice by obtaining the knives, but the perpetrator obtained more knives to continue his attack.’
By the time he finally gave up the frenzied attack, Lindemann had used six knives to slaughter his victim.
At 7:35 a.m., just minutes after the attack began, Lindemann grabbed a knife and attempted suicide.
At the same time, Lilly used voice control to call 911, the US emergency number.
“Stay with me mom, stay with me,” she was heard saying as emergency services answered the call.
The professional bodybuilder also worked as a caregiver for the disabled, but really dreamed of becoming a cop, says her ex-partner
Ms. Lezsak and her then-boyfriend Sven Lindemann were both professional bodybuilders
The young mother of twins wanted to become a police officer, her ex-partner said
The court heard Lilly told the operator that her mother was dead and that a killer remained in the house.
She told operator Lindemann that she killed her mother because “she broke up with him.”
Lilly then told a police officer who responded to the call that she had tried to resuscitate her mother, but it had not worked.
“There was blood everywhere,” she told the officer, including all over her body.
“My heart is broken into pieces,” she told the officer. “My mother, I loved her so much.”
In a shocking final act, the court heard that Lindemann had transferred $71,000 from his bank account as he lay bleeding next to Ms Lezsak’s corpse in an attempt to hide the fact that money would go to his late ex-partner’s children.
When the police arrived, Lindemann begged the police to let him die.
“She ruined my life,” he told them. Paramedics who took him to hospital were told the same thing.
While in prison awaiting justice, Lindemann was recorded on prison phones whining about his life.
‘She shouldn’t have started something with another man. “That’s why it was like pouring gasoline on the fire,” he said.
Detectives outside Ms Lezsak’s parents’ home in Endeavor Hills in May last year
Police at the house where Lindemann committed his horrible crime
Sven’s Instagram post from four days ago about life, death and happiness contained the words ‘remember you are going to die’
Prison staff also heard Lindemann tell a friend to make sure no one had access to his money.
‘My account book and everything. Who knows? Maybe they can use my card and go shopping or whatever,” he said.
Lindemann was captured during the phone calls during which he made a full confession of his crime.
“When it comes down to it, I don’t have any excuses for what I did,” he said.
‘All I know is that someone hurt me very, very, very badly and ripped my heart out of my body. I just couldn’t deal with it.
“A man who was previously free, who had a job, a career, it was all taken away, but that woman ruined it all for me. She destroyed everything for me.
‘It was a blackout. She ripped my heart out of my chest and took everything from me.”
Just days before the murder, he gave a chilling insight into his twisted plans.
In a Instagram post he spoke about death, ’10 bitter truths’ and ‘mortality, happiness and material wealth’.
The day before the alleged stabbing, Sven posted a strange video from an apartment’s fisheye security door camera, and his previous posts included statements about death, fate, and being an “alpha male.”
Lindemann will be sentenced at a date to be determined.