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Sabrina Lekaj: Adelaide man to spend 20 years in prison for murdering his daughter

The Adelaide man who stabbed his daughter to death last July will spend a minimum of 20 years behind bars.

Sabrina Lekaj was found dead in her car near the family's suburban Kidman Park property.
Sabrina Lekaj was found dead in her car near the family's suburban Kidman Park property. Source: Facebook

An Adelaide man who killed his 20-year-old daughter by stabbing her eight times in a fit of rage will spend at least 20 years behind bars.

Petrit Lekaj, 49, had confronted his daughter, Sabrina, in her car over her partying and drug use in the lead-up to the July 2019 attack.

Sentencing him in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Trish Kelly said his reaction was "ironic" given he had previously spent more than four years in jail for drug trafficking.

"It seems clear enough from the evidence before me that the insolence of your daughter that day and her response to your distress and anger incensed you and you lost your temper to the point where you stabbed her eight times," she said.

Romina Lekaj the mother of Sabrina and wife of Petrit Lekaj leaves the supreme court in Adelaide, Tuesday, 3 March, 2020.
Romina Lekaj the mother of Sabrina and wife of Petrit Lekaj leaves the supreme court in Adelaide, Tuesday, 3 March, 2020. Source: AAP

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"In those few moments you simultaneously destroyed your life as well as Sabrina's.

"You will have to live with those consequences for the rest of your life."

Ms Lekaj was found dead in her car near the family's suburban Kidman Park property, while her father was treated in hospital for several self-inflicted stab wounds.

Justice Kelly sentenced him to life behind bars with the mandatory minimum 20-year non-parole period.

His wife - Sabrina Lekaj's mother - made no comment as she left court.


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