For Tatiana ‘Tania’ Dokhotaru, Sunday should have been spent celebrating her son’s fifth birthday after the couple returned from a holiday abroad last week.
Instead, the 34-year-old mother of a child was tragically found dead in her unit in Liverpool, southwest Sydney, at about 8pm on Saturday – nearly 24 hours after police received an anonymous tip about a domestic dispute in the Pinnacle complex, which has 297 units.
Her partner Danny Zayat, 28, was arrested at the scene and has been charged with a range of domestic violence-related offences, including suffocation and violating an arrest warrant.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal that Ms. Dokhotaru spent her last days enjoying quality time with her son and starting a new business venture.
The new details come after neighbors revealed they heard her baby boy screaming at the Norfolk Street apartment at around 2pm on Saturday – just hours before she was found with serious head injuries.
Tatiana ‘Tania’ Dokhotaru, 34, (pictured) was found dead in her apartment building in Liverpool, western Sydney, on Saturday night.
Her partner Danny Zayat (pictured), 28, has been charged with domestic violence and is currently assisting police in investigating her death
Devastated friends told Daily Mail Australia on Monday that Ms Dokhotaru was a “beautiful mother” who moved to the country from Russia about 10 years ago.
They said she adored her “bubbly” little boy, Zayn, and the pair, who had only recently moved into the apartment building, shared a very special bond.
“They just got back from a seven-day vacation together in Thailand,” said a friend.
“He was a mummy boy. She did everything for him. They were always together.
The women said Zayn turned five on Sunday — just hours after his mother was found dead.
It is clear that Zayn is now in the care of relatives, while authorities correspond with Ms. Dokhotaru’s parents, who live in Canada.
In the days before her death, Ms. Dokhotaru had started renting out luxury goods – including shoes, clothes, watches and bags from major brands such as Burberry, Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton.
After launching an Instagram business page last week, she quickly got to work sharing photos of the available designer items – posting 140 times on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Ms. Dokhotaru had just launched a designer brand rental business in the days before her death. Pictured is a handbag featured on her Instagram page that retails for $4100
Among her hefty collection of luxury goods on loan were Versace dresses – worth $2280
A friend said Ms. Dokhotaru was “hard-working” and set up the new project to earn some money while taking care of her son full-time.
Just hours after the latest footage was posted, police received a call from a distressed woman complaining she had been assaulted during an argument over money.
Police arrived on the scene three hours after the woman called, but left when they were unable to determine the number of the unit.
Ms. Dokhotaru was discovered when officers returned to the building the next day after receiving a call from a neighbor.
It is now being investigated whether Ms. Dokhotaru was the person who called at 11:45 p.m. and why she was not found until 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Neighbor Hassan Haddad, who lives on the same floor as Ms Dokhotaru, said he heard her son screaming “really loudly” about six hours before his mother’s body was found.
Mr Haddad said that while it was not uncommon to hear the boy yell or scream, he was surprised by the disturbing cry on Saturday.
“It took about five minutes,” Mr. Haddad said.
“I’ve never heard a child scream like that.”
Mr. Haddad said people were always coming and going from Ms. Dokhotura’s unit, and she kept to herself for the most part.
The business page featured photos of Ms. Dokhotaru modeling some garments
One of the items included a Burberry fanny pack – which has a purchase price of $580
Ms. Dokhotaru also offered a Christian Dior active wear set that fetches more than $1500 online
However, when they bumped into each other in common areas, she was “always smiling, very friendly and always saying hello.”
While he didn’t believe Zayat lived in the unit, Mr. Haddad said he saw him in the building.
Haddad said he was shocked that it took police so long to determine her location and that he and his wife were now afraid to continue living in a huge apartment building.
“It’s just so sad. It was a serious call and they didn’t show up until almost 24 hours later. As a result, you start to lose confidence in the system,” he said.
“What’s the point of calling triple zero if you can call a family member and they’ll get there quicker than the police?
“I’ve seen police officers react immediately to a burnout, but someone who makes an emergency call and it takes four hours to get there?
‘I no longer feel safe in a tall building. We’re thinking about packing up and moving.’
Several police officers remained on scene Monday as forensics continued at the apartment and detectives knocked on local businesses.
Meanwhile, heartbroken loved ones gathered outside the apartment building, laid flowers and comforted each other as they came to terms with the young mother’s death.
Among the tributes were two bottles of wine – a tribute to the late mother’s affinity for the alcoholic beverage.
The police were initially unable to find out which apartment Ms. Dokhotaru was in in the huge 297-apartment building
The photo shows two officers sitting outside Ms Dokhotaru’s unit in Liverpool on Monday
A friend said she was worried about Ms. Dokhotaru over the weekend after the mother failed to respond to her text messages.
On Sunday, after her partner drove past Ms. Dokhotaru’s apartment building to see it swarming with police, she went to the unit.
Hearing someone call her friend’s name on the spot, she realized that Mrs. Dokhotaru was dead.
“It’s disgusting that the police didn’t come in after she called,” said another friend.
“If they’d woken up sooner, she’d still be alive.”
NSW Assistant Commissioner of Police Stuart Smith said police had been unable to pinpoint the exact origin of the call in the 297-unit building.
“(The) triple-0 call center received a call Friday evening from an anonymous woman indicating that she had (allegedly) been assaulted and was being asked for money by another person in the unit,” he said.
“She gave no name and the address for that call was a large block of units here in Liverpool.”
Ms Dokhotaru’s friends burst into tears as they posted tributes outside her apartment building on Monday
Meanwhile, Zayat faced court Monday on charges of a range of offenses including harassment and destruction or damage to property.
The court was told that Zayat now faces more than a dozen new charges, including suffocation related to domestic violence without consent, assault with bodily harm and common assault.
Court documents reveal Mr Zayat’s history of alleged domestic violence dating back to 2021.
Police allege Zayat assaulted Ms Dokhotaru in St Marys and again months later in Leichardt, actually inflicting bodily harm on her.
Years later, Zayat is said to have violated an AVO’s orders and assaulted Ms Dokhotaru while the couple were in Liverpool on April 13, 2023. He was charged with causing her actual bodily harm over the alleged incident.
In the following days, Zayat was alleged to have again violated the court order and was charged with deliberately strangling Ms. Dokhotaru without her consent.
On May 1, Zayat was alleged by police to assault and strangled his partner in Liverpool without her consent.
Two days before his arrest and the discovery of Ms. Dokhotaru’s body, Zayat allegedly smashed his partner’s TV, breaking an AVO and causing fear.
Zayat was denied bail on Monday, only to appear before the same court again on Friday.
Attorney Talal Krayem said Mr Zayat would make an offer for bail on that date.
Police are investigating how Ms. Dokhotaru died and no charges have been filed in relation to her death.
Police have launched a critical incident investigation into why it took officers so long to find the apartment
A child’s mother is remembered as ‘beautiful’ and ‘hardworking’