Man charged for murdering Australian citizen Shanae Brooke sentenced to 20 years
Mursakulov apologized to the victim’s brother, saying he “wasn’t that kind of person, just got into that situation.” Photo: ipn.ge
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Rafael Mursakulov, a man charged for the murder of Australian citizen Shanae Brooke Edwards last year in Tbilisi, was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison by Tbilisi City Court on Wednesday.
The Prosecutor’s Office of Georgia said Brooke Edwards had been stabbed 13 times with a knife, including five cuts in the throat area. Prosecutor Giorgi Kobuladze explained that after committing the murder, Mursakulov covered Brooke Edwards’ body with leaves in an attempt to hide it.
Tyson Edwards, the brother of the deceased, attended the trial and said his family requested a life sentence for the accused.
Mursakulov apologized to the victim’s brother, saying he “wasn’t that kind of person, just got into that situation.”
Shanae Brooke Edwards, who had moved to Georgia two years before her death, was an English teacher. She went missing while on hiking on the afternoon of July 30 and was found dead the following day.
Shanae Brooke was an English teacher. Photo: Shanae Brooke/Instagram
Mursakulov was arrested on September 8 after police had examined the DNA samples and the video footage from CCTV cameras and had questioned over 200 individuals.
He was charged with armed robbery and intentional homicide, punishable by 16-20 years in prison or a life sentence.
The Georgian government covered the expenses to transfer the victim’s body to Australia.
The family of Australian girl Shanae Brooke Edwards murdered in Tbilisi in late July, has released a statement urging the Georgian justice system to sentence Rafael Mursakulov, who stands accused of her murder, to life in prison. Shanae Brooke Edwards’s family has thanked the Georgian government for offering financial assistance for her repatriation and the Georgian people ‘for the continuous attention, love and support during this difficult tragic period.’
Rafael Mursakulov, a Georgian citizen who has been detained for the murder of Australian national Shanae Brooke Edwards in Tbilisi in late July, has been denied bail by a Tbilisi court. Mursakulov made no statements at the court; his lawyer says that he is exercising his right to silence.
Robbery has been named as the motive behind the murder of Australian teacher Shanae Brooke Edwards in Tbilisi in late July. The Georgian Chief Prosecutor’s Office stated earlier today that the suspect, Georgian citizen Rafel Mursakulov, has been charged with armed robbery and intentional homicide which is punishable by 16-20 years in prison or life imprisonment
Rafael Mursakulov, who has been arrested by Georgian police for the murder of Australian citizen Shanae Brooke Edwards in central Tbilisi late July, denies the allegations against him, his lawyer has told journalists. The lawyer says that the detainee had no acquaintance with Brooke Edwards and that he uses the right to silence. Mursakulov, who is a citizen of Georgia living in Tbilisi, was arrested yesterday and he will be officially charged later today.
Georgian law enforcers have arrested a 33-year-old man for the murder of Australian citizen Shanae Brooke Edwards in Tbilisi at the end of July. The Georgian Interior Ministry has stated that the Georgian citizen living in Tbilisi, identified only as R.M., was arrested yesterday. DNA samples taken from the murder scene and R.M. point to his involvement.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia has launched an investigation into the death of Australian citizen Shanae Brooke Edwards as intentional homicide.
Shanae Brooke Edwards, an Australian citizen, who had been missing since Friday afternoon after going hiking in Mtatsminda park in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, was found dead. Her friends wrote in Facebook late last night that ‘there was last a disturbing call from her while she was being attacked and screaming for help’.