Family raising funds for burial of Vancouver mom found dead in Australia
Editor’s note: This article includes descriptions of violence and assault.
On Friday, May 26, local police in Australia received an anonymous domestic dispute report from a caller claiming she was the victim of assault and that another person in the unit was demanding money, according to 9News Sydney.
The emergency call came in fifteen minutes before midnight, but police were unable to identify the unit where the caller was calling from.
At 8 pm on the following Saturday, police found the body of Canadian woman Tatiana Dokhotaru, 34, in an apartment unit on Norfolk Street in Liverpool, just southwest of Sydney. Her former partner, 28-year-old Danny Zayat, was arrested at the scene.
Longtime friend Amber Haleta told Daily Hive that Dokhotaru (or Tania, as she preferred to be called), grew up on Quadra Island, BC, and moved to Surrey at around the age of 16. She last saw Dokhotaru when she was back in Surrey in June 2022.
Now, Dokhotaru’s heartbroken family is trying to raise money to bring her remains home to Canada.
“No parent should ever have to outlive their child. We cry out for justice and have faith that the truth will prevail. Please pray for us, Australia,” reads a statement the victim’s mother, Olga Dokhotaru, provided to 9News Sydney.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to raise $200,000 AUD.
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The Dokhotarus are hoping to raise the $25,000 needed for Tatiana’s funeral and the cost of returning her body to Canada. They’re also trying to raise $25,000 to cover the cost of her family travelling to Australia, and want to raise $150,000 to “leave a small nest egg (a trust)” for her four-year-old son.
“Tatiana left us too soon. Her little boy is forever without a mother,” reads a statement from the organizer of the fundraiser, Annabella Green. “Help us to ease the burden on this unfortunate family.”
As of Monday, June 5, the fundraiser has earned $18,258 AUD.
Global Affairs Canada told Daily Hive that it is “aware of the death of a Canadian citizen in Australia.”
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“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the family,” a representative said.
Zayat could face more charges in addition to 18 separate counts, including assault, stalking/intimidation, choking without consent, and contravening an apprehended violence order, reports The Guardian.
In a media statement, Liverpool City Police said that they went to the apartment complex at 3 am on Saturday, May 27 but “were unable to locate the source of the report within the unit block.”
Police said they then continued to make inquiries to search for the source of the call throughout the day. It wasn’t until that evening that police were called to an apartment unit where they found Tatiana almost 20 hours after the anonymous call.
Chris Minns, premier of New South Wales, described the incident as “very concerning.”
“I can understand the public is very worried about a traumatic incident. We need to make sure that the police have got the chance to do their inquiries so that we can announce what changes, if any, need to be made,” Minns told reporters. “I want to make sure that we get to the bottom of it.”
Haleta said that Dokhotaru was fearless and enjoyed travelling but everything changed when she had her son.
“Her life changed, that’s all she cared about, raising him right,” she said. However, she alleged that the abuse that Dokhotaru endured was so bad that her son “couldn’t even speak until after three years old.”
Haleta said that Dokhotaru shared everything with her, the good and the bad.
“I hate that it took this to happen to my friend. It was just her birthday on May 5,” she said. “I go from sending flowers to her to [holding] a piece of stone in a park. It’s not right. So much could have been done, the cops could’ve gone there. They let her f**king die.”
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