Tinder date takes deadly turn: Trio convicted after man was found stabbed to death in his Sydney home
Three people involved in a botched drug robbery have been found guilty of manslaughter for brutally stabbing a man during the deadly incident.
Luke Lembryk unknowingly set his fate in motion during a Tinder date with Lisa Anne Price and another woman in August 2019.
Four months later he was stabbed to death in his Sydney home.
Price and three others, Bilal Rahim, Viliami Taufahema and Sherene Rizk, faced a joint trial in the NSW Supreme Court for six weeks in November and December last year.
She told a friend about a stash of drugs and money at Mr Lembryk’s home before the man contacted his associates Rahim and Taufahema.
Luke Lembryk (pictured) was fatally stabbed at his Sydney home in December 2019 during a botched drug robbery
At trial, prosecutors alleged that the group’s members were part of the same joint criminal enterprise and that each foresaw that the robbery could result in serious bodily harm.
Price and Rizk are alleged to have planned the attack while Rahim, Taufahema and the third man, who is due to appear in court later over the incident, visited Mr Lembryk’s home to steal cocaine and cash, the jury heard.
Defense lawyers told the court during the trial that although there were plans for a “drug push,” no one had considered injuring or killing Mr. Lembryk.
Mr Lembryk’s mother, Robyn Bradley, who has since died due to a terminal illness, was pushed over by Taufahema as the trio fled the house.
After eight days of deliberation, jurors delivered their verdict on December 21, finding only Taufahema guilty of murder.
Price and Rahim were found not guilty of murder, but were found guilty of manslaughter and assault with intent to rob in company.
The court found Viliami Taufahema guilty of murder, while Bilal Rahim and Lisa Anne Price (pictured) were found guilty of manslaughter
Rahim has already pleaded guilty to two new charges of aggravated burglary, one of which relates to the assault of Ms Bradley.
The jury found Price guilty of the same additional charges.
Jurors returned not guilty verdicts on two counts of murder and assault with intent to rob with Rizk.
Price, Rahim and Taufahema will face a two-day sentencing hearing before Judge Sarah McNaughton from April 18.