Penis-in-drawer murderer gets 18 years

A Sydney man who stabbed his ex-wife's lover to death and cut off the man's penis has been sentenced to a minimum 18 years in prison.

Gabor Ziha was found guilty of killing Barry Corbett and stabbing his ex-wife, Maria Corbett, at her Parramatta home in August 2006.

Ziha broke into his estranged wife's flat on the eve of their anniversary and attacked Mr Corbett with a kitchen knife, wounding him 30 times.

He also cut off Mr Corbett's penis and placed it in Mrs Corbett's bedside table.

In delivering his sentence, Supreme Court Justice Graham Barr said while Ziha's depression played a role in the attack, "he acted as an over-controlled, moralistic, jealous, indignant and angry man".

He said Ziha's intention was to punish Mr Corbett "by killing him for stealing another man's wife", and that mutilating the victim's genitals was to "teach Mrs Corbett a lesson for her adultery".

Supreme Court Justice Graham Barr said Ziha was rigid and obsessive on questions of sexual morals.

Ziha's sentence has been backdated and he will be eligible for release in 2024.

Mrs Corbett says she is happy with the result.

Apology
Ziha apologised to his ex-wife in court a week ago, after Mrs Corbett read her victim impact statement.

She said words could not describe the horror of seeing the man she loved murdered.

Mrs Corbett told the court of her depression and fear fo her life once Ziha was released. She said she was so traumatised, she still slept with a light on.

Ziha wept and said: "I'm so sorry, if I could offer my whole life to bring him back, I would offer that."

He said he had not realised how much his ex-wife loved Mr Corbett.