Posted on 09/01/2014 11:46:31 PM PDT by nickcarraway
THE partner of celebrated Melbourne interior designer Stuart Rattle hit him over the head with a saucepan before strangling him to death with a nylon dog lead, court documents reveal.
Michael O’Neill then went to elaborate lengths over the following days to pretend his companion of 16 years was still alive.
O’Neill, 48, today pleaded guilty to murder and arson, admitting to killing Mr Rattle, 53, before setting fire to their South Yarra apartment five days later in an attempt to conceal the crime.
A case summary and record of interview released by the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court show O’Neill maintained to friends and family that Mr Rattle was exhausted and bedridden in the days following the December 4 murder.
O’Neill meanwhile kept up appearances, spending the weekend at the couple’s Musk Farm property near Daylesford, sending text messages from Mr Rattle’s phone purporting to be from the deceased, and dining with friends and business associates.
His pretence even extended to making two breakfasts, buying two takeaway coffees, setting the table for two and tilting the television “so that Stuart could see it” in the days following the murder.
On December 8, O’Neill set fire to the apartment, telling police Mr Rattle had died in the fire, according to the documents.
But an autopsy conducted three days later found evidence of a skull fracture and fractures to the throat, and nothing in Mr Rattle’s airways to indicate he had been alive when the fire started.
Documents also show O’Neill asked for a glass of wine during his police interview, and that Mr Rattle’s last words, as the accused approached him with the saucepan, were: “Michael, don’t do this.”
Although O’Neill made a frank admission to police during an interview on December 11, he said he and Mr Rattle had been happy in the days preceding the murder, and he could not explain his actions.
FEATURE: A beautiful life and brutal death
In court, Chief Crown Prosecutor Gavin Silbert QC agreed to withdraw charges of reckless conduct endangering life and reckless conduct endangering serious injury, in exchange for O’Neill’s guilty plea.
Asked by Magistrate Gerard Lethbridge whether he was guilty, a quietly-spoken O’Neill, dressed in a navy suit and an open-necked, blue and white striped shirt, replied: “Yes, your honour, I am. I am guilty, your honour.”
The court heard O’Neill had lost more than 20kg and had been in a “fragile state” since entering custody, and was being treated by a psychologist.
O’Neill’s barrister Ruth Shann applied to have his record of interview with police suppressed by the court, arguing it formed only “part of the story”, contained “confronting aspects” and that his “intense distress is apparent”.
She said there was also an absence of an explanation for why O’Neill “spontaneously reacted as he did”.
Ms Shann said aspects of their relationship, including the way Mr Rattle treated O’Neill, would be central to the case.
Mr Lethbridge rejected her application, saying he was unconvinced O’Neill’s case was any different from those of other accused murderers.
The families of both men were present in court, but declined to comment.
One friend of both men, who declined to be named, said those who had known them were still distressed and bewildered by Mr Rattle’s murder.
“Everyone liked Michael, but they’re angry with him, so there’s this ambivalence,” the friend said.
Mr Rattle decorated the homes of many prominent Melbourne families.
O’Neill was remanded in custody to appear at a Supreme Court directions hearing on September 17.
so why did he murder him? i want to know!
“so why did he murder him? i want to know!”
I’m going to go out on a limb and speculate that this wasn’t over a woman.
What a horrible story.
Some people want the control of every thing that goes in their lives, including those around them. Wrong thoughts; can’t even have those.
I guess he got Rattled.
His death rattle was kept from view, so it seems.
He was angered when ordered to “Get into dat kitchen an’ rattle dem pots ‘n pans.”
Looks like yet another homo-cide.
Rattle wanted children and oneill just wasn’t ready.
LOL
Homosexuality is a mental illness.
It doesn’t surprise me that that mental illness manifests itself in ways other than in sexuality.
Or maybe it was.
Weekend at Stuart Little’s?
A gay interior designer? What are the odds?
A homosexual involved in a violent murder of his “Partner”?
Why that just NEVER happens.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.