Aunt Edwina Josephine Lewis given life in jail after brutally stabbing her niece to death over love triangle in Darwin
A woman who stabbed her niece to death over a love triangle has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years.
Edwina Josephine Lewis, 33, murdered her 28-year-old niece on Mitchell St in Darwin at about 8pm on December 20, 2022.
Judge Sonia Brownhill said while Lewis was locked up on another case in November 2022, she was ‘concerned’ about her partner’s fidelity and was told he was ‘messing around’ with her niece.
On the day of the stabbing, Lewis, her niece and a third woman – another aunt of the deceased – congregated in or near Smith St Mall, the NT news reported.
The niece tried to run away but Lewis challenged her to a fight in Knuckey St and they exchanged blows, with the niece admitting they were in a relationship.
Edwina Josephine Lewis (pictured), who stabbed her niece to death over a love triangle, has been sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years
The niece came out on top and taunted Lewis, who was “humiliated”, the court heard.
Lewis – who a witness said she was going to stab her niece – went to a nearby Coles store and bought a 7-inch kitchen knife.
She then found the victim and her aunt near Monsoons Restaurant and Party Bar and pulled out the knife.
The aunt stepped between them and was stabbed in the chest by Lewis, who then stabbed her niece eleven times, killing her.
She hid the knife in a nearby garden and told police officers who arrived on the scene that she was not the suspect but had seen her going the other way.
Lewis, a mother of three, was “intoxicated and uninhibited” by the deception, Judge Brownhill said.
But despite her condition, she still had the intention to kill her niece and understand what she was doing.
Judge Brownhill said this was particularly the case ‘given your stated intention to stab the deceased after the initial struggle, and your deliberate and calculated decision to obtain the knife from Coles and then return it to the deceased’.
The judge added that the stabbing of her niece and her niece’s aunt was “disproportionate” to the pain she felt from the infidelity.
Lewis, 33, murdered her 28-year-old niece on Mitchell St (pictured) in Darwin at around 8pm on December 20, 2022
Lewis had an “extensive” criminal history, including multiple convictions for violent crimes, the court heard.
She had a fairly stable upbringing after being taken in by her grandparents at the age of seven, but Lewis had been abused by several partners, some of whom served time in prison for assaulting her.
She had also been a ‘heavy user’ of alcohol and cannabis since her teenage years.
The judge said Lewis’ chances of rehabilitation were “guarded at best” and sentenced her to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 20 years, which is the mandatory minimum in the NT.
