Former AFL and NRL rookie Shem Tatupu repeatedly strangled and stabbed his partner in a monstrous case of family violence which spanned nine hours and left the tip of a knife blade permanently lodged in his victim\u2019s skull, a court has heard.<\/p>\n
The \u201canimalistic\u201d attack took place in their Parkdale home on May 19, 2025 and involved \u201cextreme degradation\u201d of Tatupu\u2019s then-girlfriend who\u2019d told him she wanted to end their brief yet controlling four-month relationship. <\/p>\n
Weeks earlier he had been sentenced for violence against a separate ex-partner, it can be revealed.<\/p>\n
Initially charged with attempted murder, Tatupu pleaded guilty to downgraded charges of intentionally causing serious injury, non-fatal strangulation causing injury and common assault and will be sentenced in the Supreme Court on Monday.<\/p>\n
The court heard after the woman, 24, broke up with Tatupu, 30, she placed her belongings in her car and returned to find her phone and keys missing and Tatupu \u2013 who stands over two metres tall and weighs 160 kilograms \u2013 threatening, \u201cYou\u2019re not going anywhere until you answer me\u201d.<\/p>\n
He accused her of cheating and dragged her by her hoodie back into their bedroom, saying: \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing to lose. I want to go to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the next 10 minutes, Tatupu strangled her eight times, preventing her from breathing.<\/p>\n
In an effort to survive, the victim gave a false confession of infidelity and played dead.<\/p>\n
The court heard Tatupu held her captive in their bedroom for the next five hours, stopping her from getting dressed or using the bathroom.<\/p>\n
Knowing his girlfriend was expected at a family dinner, Tatupu forced her to text her mother to avoid suspicion before taking her phone back. <\/p>\n
\u201cHey mama, I can\u2019t make dinner tonight. I\u2019m sick. I think I have gastro. I\u2019m sorry,\u201d the text read.<\/p>\n
Around 5pm, after Tatupu\u2019s mother arrived home, the victim convinced him to let her use the bathroom by promising to cover her bruised body with a dressing gown.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou better not put me on show. I don\u2019t care. I\u2019ll do it in front of mum. You come straight f \u2014 king back,\u201d Tatupu threatened.<\/p>\n
The victim found Tatupu\u2019s mother who sensed danger and tried to intervene as her son grabbed his girlfriend by the hair and punched and choked her on the floor before she broke free and fled toward the garage.<\/p>\n
The court heard Tatupu retrieved a large kitchen knife and chased her down. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to kill her. She doesn\u2019t deserve this,\u201d his mother yelled as she called police. <\/p>\n
Officers arrived at 7.31pm to find Tatupu repeatedly stabbing the victim in the back of the head.<\/p>\n
The court heard he stomped on her head before being doused in OC spray and arrested.<\/p>\n
The victim was rushed to the Alfred Hospital with multiple skull fractures.<\/p>\n
Doctors discovered the tip of Tatupu\u2019s 18.5cm blade embedded in her skull and warned removing it was too dangerous.<\/p>\n
Bravely detailing ongoing memory loss, night terrors and broken trust from the day she could have died, the woman said: \u201cI carry the consequences of his actions every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to return to the woman I was before this happened,\u201d she told the court.<\/p>\n
Her family said Tatupu led them to believe he was a good partner.<\/p>\n
They did not know the lengths he went to control her including making her quit her job, restricting her movements and attempting to cut her from them. <\/p>\n
Her father spoke of Tatupu\u2019s \u201cevilness\u201d as her mother said she will forever be haunted by the memory of her daughter bruised and bloodied in hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have lost her that day,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Crown prosecutor Daniel Porcheddu said \u201cthis case could quite easily have been a homicide,\u201d highlighting that Tatupu chose to continue his violence over nine hours despite multiple opportunities to stop.<\/p>\n
The attack\u2019s brutality prompted a rare victim impact statement from one of the officers who was so traumatised by what she witnessed she isn\u2019t sure if she can continue policing. <\/p>\n
She said: \u201cIt scares me that people like you exist\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe how animalistic and violent you are and that I was helpless. I couldn\u2019t stop you.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never want to witness anything like that again \u2026 you ruined and changed so many lives in one day.\u201d<\/p>\n
The court heard Tatupu was mostly remorseful for how his actions had impacted him and his family, not his victim.<\/p>\n
Prosecution and defence disagree about whether he was in a state of drug-induced psychosis at the time.<\/p>\n
Tatupu had a lengthy drug abuse history but had not taken any illicit substances in the lead up to the attack, the court heard.<\/p>\n
His barrister Belinda Franjic said Tatupu descended into drug use in 2022 after losing his job at a primary school where his mother worked due to four family violence incidents involving his partner. <\/p>\n
He received a community corrections order without conviction for assault and property damage just weeks before attacking his new girlfriend, the court heard.<\/p>\n
Born in New Zealand, Tatupu moved to Melbourne after high school when he was drafted by Hawthorn in 2013 and spent three seasons on the Hawks\u2019 list while playing VFL for the Box Hill Hawks.<\/p>\n
He never played an AFL match game for the club, which terminated his contract early so he could play for Melbourne Storm which also let him go prior to the end of his contract in late 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former AFL and NRL rookie Shem Tatupu repeatedly strangled and stabbed his partner in a monstrous case 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