Celeste Manno’s killer Luay Sako will forever be haunted by the item her family brought into the courtroom when he was jailed
The cowardly killer of Melbourne woman Celeste Manno could do nothing but stare at the glowing blue orb at the front of the courtroom.
It was the size of three footballs and shone brightly among a sea of black in its dark and gloomy surroundings.
It contained the ashes of Luay Sako’s 23-year-old victim, whom he last saw alive when he repeatedly stabbed a knife into her chest on November 16, 2020.
Aggie Di Mauro and Celeste’s father Tony enter the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday with their daughter’s ashes under a white blanket
Some of Celeste Manno’s (pictured) ashes were brought to court in a blue orb that illuminated the somber courtroom
Above is the blue ball that Celeste Manno’s family brought into the courtroom – the size of three footballs
The 39-year-old looked like a meek bookworm, with his dark glasses and neatly groomed hair, trying hard not to look at the blue glow standing next to the mother whose daughter he had so callously slaughtered in the middle of the night.
On Thursday, Sako was convicted by SSupreme Court of Victoria Justice Jane Dixon to 36 years in prison with a non-parole period of 30 years.
Ms Manno’s devastated family cannot help but believe that Sako deserved nothing less than a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Ms Manno’s mother, Aggie Di Mauro, could barely contain her anger, as she said outside court after Sako was taken away to begin his sentence.
Luay Sako as he appeared when he briefly teamed up with Celeste Manno. He has since changed his appearance
On Friday, a clearly tired Ms Di Mauro told Daily Mail Australia she felt it was important that part of her daughter appeared in court when her killer learned his fate.
What Sako felt as he looked at the blue beacon at the front of courtroom four was none of her business.
‘I could not care less. I never looked at him,” Ms Di Mauro said.
The devastated mother said she had hoped her daughter would get justice and wanted to be part of it.
“Celeste was there for me because I felt she should be in a place that would serve her some form of justice.”
‘That’s why I brought her in. She wasn’t there for him. She was not there to appeal to the judge. She was there because I felt she belonged there, because this would be the day her justice would be served.”
‘Unfortunately that was not the outcome.’
Sako will be headed to prison after being sentenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday
The hammer Sako used to smash his way into Celeste Manno’s bedroom
Ms Di Mauro remains hopeful Victoria’s director of public prosecutions would appeal Sako’s sentence, but admitted her expectations were not high.
Members of Ms. Manno’s family plan to meet with prosecutors next week to discuss their thoughts.
“The fact that (Judge Dixon) got 36 years with a 30-year minimum — well, that’s not going to meet their test for manifestly inadequate, so I don’t feel safe about an appeal here, but I’ll do what I have to to enforce an appeal,” Ms Di Mauro said.
Sako killed Mrs. Manno just hours after learning she had a new boyfriend.
The simpleton was already furious about an intervention order that Mrs. Manno had issued against him a few months earlier.
How and what police did to protect Ms Manno in the months before she was murdered by Sako in her own bed could yet become the subject of a civil suit.
Ms Di Mauro declined to speculate on how she might continue the fight for justice for her daughter.
What was made abundantly clear in the shadows of Victoria’s Supreme Court on Thursday was that a fight was coming.
Aggie Di Mauro and her beloved daughter Celeste Manno in happier times
Surrounded by family members, Ms Di Mauro lashed out at former Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes and the police commissioner for paying her lip service over changes to the state’s stalking laws.
“Many promises were made, none of which were kept, all to look good… and then dishonor my daughter like this,” she said.
“These politicians are only interested in helping if they see numbers, nothing else.”
An investigation into stalking laws was sparked by Ms Manno’s death, when the Victorian Law Reform Commission report was tabled in Parliament in September 2022.
But none of the 46 recommendations from that study have been adopted.
The toll of the more than three years it took for Sako to be convicted has weighed heavily on Ms Di Mauro and her family.
Last month, Ms Di Mauro and her Sako family were finally able to appear in court by reading their statements victim impact statements.
But what they felt and what the court allowed them to say were very different.
Ms Di Mauro said she wanted to tackle Sako’s vile attempts to escape justice by taking advantage of his alleged mental health problems.
Celeste Manno didn’t stand a chance. Her family says she was failed again and again by the justice system
Ultimately, Judge Dixon’s acceptance of these issues resulted in Sako receiving a thirty-year non-parole period instead of life behind bars.
“I felt like I had the right to let (Judge Dixon) know how I feel about what (Sako’s attorney) would do, and it was redacted. I couldn’t do it,” Ms Di Mauro said.
Sako was assisted by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Rajan Darjee, who helped convince Judge Dixon Sako that he was suffering from a range of mental illnesses.
However, he also warned that Sako would most likely stalk and harm another woman if released from prison.
“He has a moderate to high risk of further stalking and if he does stalk again, there is a high risk of violence if he feels thwarted,” Dr. Darjee told Judge Dixon during Sako’s plea hearing in January.
Ms Di Mauro said that Dr. Darjee’s grim assessment of Sako’s prospects for rehabilitation and the continued threat to the community should have set off alarm bells for Judge Dixon.
“That report was so damning… their own psyche. How do you say that you believe this does not warrant a life sentence?’ she said.