SA agent feels responsible for the death of Sabrina Lekaj who was killed by her father in Adelaide
Police officer who last saw 20-year-old girl alive before being brutally stabbed by her father is so traumatized by murder she is unable to return to active duty
- The officer says she feels responsible for the woman’s death
- The officer was the last person to see Petrik Lekaj, 20
- The young woman was murdered by her father in 2019
A police officer who was the last person to see a young woman alive before she was killed by her father has told a tribunal she feels responsible for her death.
Convicted drug trafficker Petrit Lekaj, now 51, strangled and stabbed Sabrina Lekaj, 20, eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019.
The South Australian policewoman, who had nearly 20 years of experience with the force, was suffering a psychiatric injury after being informed by colleagues that Sabrina had been killed hours after spending time with the young woman.
The officer had spent time with Sabrina in the hospital while the young woman was being tested for alcohol and drugs after a minor accident.
In a verdict handed down this week, The Deputy President of the SA Employment Tribunal Magistrate Jodie Carrel explained the officer’s injury occurred as a direct result of Sabrina’s murder.
The officer who was the last person to see 20-year-old Sabrina Lekaj (pictured) alive has told a tribunal she feels responsible for her death
The officer was investigating a minor car accident on July 21, 2019, in which the driver was believed to have been behind the wheel under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Investigation led the officer to Sabrina’s house, where she lived with her parents and brother.
The agent spoke to Sabrina and her parents Petrit and Romina before taking the young woman to the hospital for a blood test.
She stayed with Sabrina for nearly four hours before calling her parents to take her home.
The officer returned to her station, submitted the blood samples, completed her shift and departed.
Sabrina was brought home by her parents and stabbed by her father in a fit of rage in the early hours of July 22.
Lekaj strangled and stabbed Sabrina eight times in her Mercedes-Benz on the way to Hungry Jack’s near the family home in Kidman Park.
a colleague investigating the murder called the officer later that day and told her Sabrina was “brutally murdered.”
“(The officer) stated she lost it, couldn’t stop crying and was very upset,” Ms Carrel ruled.
Petrit Lekaj (left) strangled and stabbed daughter Sabrina (right) in a fit of rage
Convicted drug trafficker strangled and stabbed his daughter Sabrina eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019
a detective investigating the murder went to the police station where the officer worked to check on her well-being and found her crying.
“He was shocked to see (the officer) so upset because he hadn’t seen so much emotion for her in relation to a case before,” Ms Carrel said.
When the officer went home that day, she was unable to return to work for a year and finally awarded compensation until 2022, after which she returned to work in a limited capacity.
The tribunal ruled that the officer could never return to active service and the officer had done so applied for income compensation to pay the difference between her previous position and her new position.
The South Australian police officer had spent time with Sabrina (pictured) in hospital on July 21, 2019, hours before the young woman was killed
SA Police and the Department of Treasury and Finance rejected the application, with the officer appealing to the Tribunal.
Ms. Carrel ultimately ruled that the causal link between Sabrina’s death and the psychiatric injury was close enough, and felt compensation was the appropriate course of action.
Petrit Lekaj received a life sentence in 2020 with the mandatory minimum term of 20 years.
Convicted drug trafficker Petrit Lekaj (pictured), 49, strangled and stabbed his daughter Sabrina eight times in her white Mercedes-Benz in Adelaide in 2019