Hamka was last seen on CCTV leaving a Woolworths store at Brunswick, on April 10, 2021. Her family reported her missing five days later.
Her body was found in bushland at Cape Schanck, on the Mornington Peninsula, in August 2023 after Loughnane led police to the area.
Members of Maryam Hamka’s family outside court.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Loughnane had offered to plead guilty to negligent manslaughter, which prosecutors rejected.
He pleaded not guilty to murder, claiming Hamka died from a drug overdose and that he panicked and disposed of her body.
The trial heard a friend found Hamka with a swollen face and yellowish skin in the bathroom of her ex-boyfriend’s townhouse after spotting blood-spatter on the carpet.
Oscar Newman told jurors that he went to the Brighton home after Loughnane called and texted him, asking him to come over on April 11, 2021.
Newman said he knocked on the door, but when no one answered, and he let himself in with a key and headed upstairs.
Oscar Newman (pictured) has been giving evidence at the trial of Toby Loughnane.Credit: Jason South
In Loughnane’s room, he saw clothes on the bed and what he thought was human faeces on the floor, as well as paraphernalia used to take the drug GHB.
“I peer into the bathroom, and I saw Maryam naked in the corner of the shower,” Newman said.
She didn’t respond when he called out, and Newman went to find Loughnane, who was passed out fully dressed in another bedroom.
Newman decided to let Loughnane sleep it off and left, but came back the next day because he was worried about the pair.
“[Loughnane] told me pretty quickly that Maryam had overdosed, and I asked him … to call an ambulance. He didn’t,” Newman said.
CCTV of Hamka before she disappeared.
“He just kept saying, ‘I can’t, I can’t … I’ll get done for manslaughter’.”
Newman described the relationship between Loughnane and Hamka as “very toxic and turbulent”, and that they fought most of the time they had been together.
Hamka’s sister, Amel Hamka, said she hoped people would remember her sibling for the beautiful, loving person she was. She also praised the work of the policeman who oversaw the case, Detective Leading Senior Constable Jason Stewart, and the prosecution team involved in the trial.
“This has been a really long, extremely mentally hard process for us, and we’re happy we’ve got justice for our sister,” she said.
“It’s tragic what happened.”
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
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