Man’s ‘pathetic’ act after strangling mother before cowardly escape

A man who strangled his ex-partner in a hotel room made a pathetic attempt to revive her before making a cowardly escape.

Mary Benedito, 25, died in hospital after being violently assaulted by Reo Te Whetu Marama Marsh at a Gold Coast apartment complex on November 27, 2021.

Marsh, 39, faced Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday for sentencing after pleading guilty to murder.

Benedito had been subject to blunt force assaults and died of a brain injury caused by manual strangulation, Justice Lincoln Crowley heard.

“She had significant bruising to [her] arms, forearms, shoulders and fingers referred to as defensive injuries,” crown prosecutor Nathan Crane said.

The couple were separated and had been arguing about Benedito’s plan to move to New Zealand and her seeing other men.

“It’s no explanation for his conduct,” Crane said.

The couple could be seen on CCTV earlier in their holiday on the Gold Coast swimming and shopping.

Marsh fled their hotel room after fatally wounding Benedito and travelled to a suburb in Brisbane while attempting to evade a police search.

“He attempted to run a short distance from his arrest,” Crane said.

Crane said Marsh had pleaded guilty to murder on the basis he assaulted Benedito with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm.

Benedito brought warmth, energy and care to any space she entered, her cousin Josiah Benedito-Taotafa said in a victim impact statement.

“She was humorous, totally confident in her values and deeply compassionate,” he said.

Benedito’s family had faced long hours moving between hope and dread as she lay in intensive care for three days before the decision to turn off life support.

“My family has seen their faith shaken, their health decline and a collective struggle to navigate grief, shock and trauma,” Benedito-Taotafa said.

Benedito’s sister said she never thought she would have to bury her younger sibling.

“Her greatest achievement was being a mum, and he took that from her,” the sister said.

Benedito’s aunty Maria, who had helped raise her as a child, said she would always be heartbroken.

“Seeing her black and blue with tubes keeping her alive broke our family into pieces,” she said.

Marsh had daily regrets and self-hatred for taking what could not be replaced, he wrote in a letter to Benedito’s family.

“The unfairness of my actions are too severe to ask for forgiveness,” Marsh said.

Marsh’s barrister said his guilty pleas had saved the family the trauma of a trial and he was genuinely remorseful.

Crowley told Marsh he had dragged Benedito back to their hotel room and made a “pathetic” attempt to revive her before his cowardly escape when paramedics arrived.

“You used substantial force to do so. You smothered her at the same time you strangled her,” he said.

“All this happened because you became angry … you sought to control her life.”

Marsh was sentenced to life imprisonment.

He will be eligible for parole in under 16 years due to time already served in custody.