It’s a chilling story that unfolds like a Greek tragedy, steeped in suspicion, jealousy, and ultimately, an unspeakable act of violence. This is the heartbreaking tale of Rimoni Muliaga, a Samoan father-of-five, whose unfounded suspicions about his wife, Lise, led him down a dark and destructive path, culminating in her brutal murder. The sheer raw horror of the incident is amplified by the fact that it was witnessed by their own young children, a trauma that will undoubtedly haunt them for the rest of their lives.
The Muliaga family had only recently moved from New Zealand to Melton South, near Melbourne, a fresh start that tragically ended in bloodshed. On September 18, 2023, Rimoni, fueled by a corrosive “morbid jealousy,” launched a frenzied knife attack on Lise in his brother’s backyard. He had become convinced, without a shred of evidence, that Lise was having an affair with his brother. This baseless suspicion, a sinister seed planted in his mind, grew into an uncontrollable rage. The Supreme Court of Victoria Justice James Gorton, in condemning Muliaga, articulated the profound tragedy of the situation: “You stabbed your wife, Lise, multiple times with a kitchen knife. You did so in front of your children in the backyard of your brother’s house… You stabbed her because you mistakenly believed that she was having an affair with your brother.” Justice Gorton rightly categorized the killing as “an act of the most serious domestic violence against an innocent and unarmed woman,” an act that demands the strongest condemnation.
The morning of the murder was prefaced by an argument, a bitter exchange sparked by Rimoni’s incessant accusations. Lise, having returned from a walk, found herself once again confronted by his unfounded jealousies. The verbal conflict escalated within the bungalow, in the very presence of three of their unsuspecting children. What followed was an act of unfathomable violence. Rimoni, seizing a kitchen knife, plunged it into Lise four times – two times in her right shoulder, once in her left upper chest, and another in her left breast. The fatal blow, a 9.5cm stab to her upper chest, tore through two ribs, severed major blood vessels, caused massive internal bleeding, punctured her lung, and ultimately extinguished her life. Lise, in a desperate struggle for survival, had sustained defensive wounds on her arms, a testament to her valiant fight against her attacker. Justice Gorton, his voice heavy with the gravity of the crime, described it chillingly: “It was a frightening and violent death.”
The chaos and terror of the scene played out before the young eyes of their children. One of their daughters, a child forever scarred by the image, sprinted into the main house, her screams tearing through the air. Family members, alerted by her cries, rushed to the backyard, where they found Lise slumped on the ground, the knife still embedded in her shoulder, her lifeblood rapidly ebbing away. Rimoni stood over her, a silent, menacing figure. His sister-in-law, her voice laced with anguish and disbelief, confronted him, demanding an explanation for his monstrous actions. But Rimoni, consumed by his delusion, could only offer a chilling justification: “Lise and (his brother) were sleeping together.” He then fled the scene, leaving behind a tableau of unimaginable horror. Despite his brother’s desperate attempts at CPR and a brief revival of her heartbeat, Lise Muliaga was pronounced dead, her life brutally cut short. Rimoni was apprehended nearby, his hands still stained with his wife’s blood, a grim testament to the horrific act he had committed. He requested his “mental health medication,” claiming he hadn’t taken it since the previous day. Justice Gorton noted that Rimoni appeared genuinely shocked and even asked to call Lise upon learning of her death, a chilling display of detachment from his own actions.
A jury found Rimoni guilty of murder in December, a verdict reached after he confessed to the stabbing but, in a bizarre twist, attempted to dispute his intentions. Justice Gorton, however, ruled that Rimoni had acted with the clear intent to cause “really serious injury,” regardless of whether Lise lived or died. The attack, while not premeditated, was entirely unprovoked, born from a mind consumed by baseless jealousy. The judge highlighted a particularly aggravating factor in the sentencing: the fact that three children had witnessed their mother’s horrific death, an experience that would undoubtedly leave an indelible mark on their young, impressionable minds. This element, above all, underscored the profound objective severity of Rimoni’s crime.
The court delved into Rimoni’s personal history, painting a complex picture of a man burdened by past trauma and mental health issues. Born in Samoa in 1981, one of nine siblings, he had endured a difficult childhood marked by physical abuse. Furthermore, Rimoni had a remarkably low IQ of just 61, placing him in the bottom 0.5% of the population, a criterion for intellectual disability. This, coupled with impaired executive functioning and rigid thinking, painted a picture of a man whose cognitive abilities were significantly limited. His history of mental health problems, including depression with psychotic features and a prior diagnosis of schizophrenia in New Zealand, further complicated his psychological profile. While a forensic psychiatrist concluded he suffered from a major depressive disorder rather than schizophrenia, Justice Gorton acknowledged that Rimoni’s condition lessened his moral culpability. However, the judge firmly asserted that it did not, in any way, excuse his heinous crime. Rimoni, despite his struggles, was aware that his actions were wrong. The court also heard disturbing accounts of Rimoni’s past violent behavior towards Lise, including incidents witnessed by his brother and sister-in-law, foreshadowing the tragic events that would eventually unfold. The children, now navigating life without their mother and grappling with the devastating knowledge of their father’s crime, submitted victim impact statements, poignant testaments to their enduring pain and loss. Rimoni Muliaga, not an Australian citizen, now faces deportation upon his release from prison. Justice Gorton handed down a 24-year prison sentence, with a non-parole period of 18 years and six months, a stark reflection of the gravity of his crime and the profound impact it has had on countless lives. Rimoni has already spent 919 days in pre-sentence detention, a small fraction of the time he will now spend behind bars, wrestling with the consequences of his unfathomable actions.