A Sydney woman who killed and dismembered her abusive husband was sentenced on Friday to three years in jail, with a further year added for disposing of the body.
Nirmeen Noufl, 55, pleaded guilty last month to killing Mamdouh Noufl, 62. She had acted to defend herself, she claimed, but used more force than the law allowed. Her husband was reported missing in July 2023 and his body was never found.
Noufl was arrested in October 2024 after police searched the couple’s home in Greenacre in southwest Sydney.
Since Noufl had been in custody since her arrest, Justice Peter Hamill ruled, she would be eligible for parole in October next year.
In the course of the trial, prosecution and defence lawyers agreed on the account of what transpired: the couple had an argument one night in May 2023 which turned physical. Noufl told psychiatrists she was pinned to the kitchen floor and choked when she reached for a renovation tool and stabbed her husband, "believing that her life was in danger”.
The judge said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that she had intended to kill her husband.
Noufl then dismembered the body. A witness who was at the house in the following days told the court they saw “pieces of a large round saw” which had been dismantled, alongside fragments of plastic, some with blood on them.
The dismembered body was put in garbage bags and dumped in bins with the help of that witness, who could not be identified for legal reasons. Justice Hamill said the disposal of the body was a "disturbing" feature of the case.
"The disposal of the body in this case was as thorough as it was brutal," he said.
"The conduct after the killing is remarkable and chilling, and is relevant to issues such as remorse, rehabilitation and future dangerousness."
The judge said Noufl's history of childhood dysfunction and domestic violence was relevant to her sentence.
The account agreed by both sides stated that the marriage had been marred by infidelity and domestic violence, much of it unreported. Mamdouh Noufl is described in court documents as strict, controlling, and holding conservative Islamic views.
He had met a woman during a 2022 trip to Egypt, where the couple owned property, and declared that he planned to marry her but refused Noufl's request for divorce.
Noufl was reported as telling another witness after her husband's death that he had "treated me like s***" and that she had "had enough”.
The court also heard evidence from the couple's children, who described the relationship as "gravely abusive”, featuring violence, manipulation and coercive control.
Mamdouh Noufl's relatives, including his siblings, niece and nephew, gave statements describing his positive qualities.
His brother called him kind, respectable, friendly and compassionate, and relatives said that the dismemberment amounted to "horrific cruelty", leaving no resting place to visit.
"Look what she did to him,” one of his nephews said angrily outside the court. “If it was an accident, if she was not meant to kill him, why did you f****** dismember his body?"
Noufl's defence lawyer, Mohamed Bejjaoui, described the case as "a tragic set of circumstances" that had been "difficult on everybody, especially the family”.
He said his client planned to live with her children after her release and hoped the family could move on.
Asked whether Noufl was remorseful, he said: "She is, she is. Definitely."
The national domestic abuse helpline offers support for women on 0808 2000 247, or you can visit the Refuge website. There is a dedicated men's advice line on 0808 8010 327. Those in the US can call the domestic violence hotline on 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
