Two and a half years after their mother was killed in their own backyard, the five children of Lise Muliaga stood before the Victorian Supreme Court not with anger, but with something far harder to sustain: forgiveness.
Their father, Rimoni Muliaga, 44, stabbed Lise to death at the family home in Melton South in September 2023, months after the family had relocated from New Zealand. He had accused her of being unfaithful with his brother. He denied murder at trial, arguing that a diagnosed intellectual disability and depressive disorder had impaired his reasoning. A jury rejected those arguments in December last year, convicting him of murder after four days of deliberations.
At a pre-sentence hearing this week, eight victim impact statements were read to the court. Five came from the children Muliaga shared with Lise, ranging in age from seven to sixteen. Senior crown prosecutor Patrick Bourke KC read a statement from the teenage son, who told the court the years since his mother's death had been traumatic but had forced him to mature. He said he was now motivated to become a father figure to his younger siblings.
"Please tell my dad he doesn't have to worry about us and we are thriving and serving the Lord, just like he would want. I forgive him but I will never forget what he did."
The words carry considerable weight given their source. This is a child whose entire world was fractured by an act of family violence, speaking not to condemn but to reassure the man responsible. The 16-year-old also told the court he simply wanted to live life to the fullest.
Muliaga blinked away tears as a younger daughter described struggling to sleep, haunted by thoughts of the murder. Her statement read: "Mum went to heaven and dad went to prison alone. That made me sad." Other children drew pictures, one depicting his mother in heaven with God and his father in jail, another illustrating a bloodied woman on the ground. These are the images inside the minds of children living with the consequences of family violence.
Statements from Muliaga's brother Daniel and sister-in-law Marama also addressed the court. Marama's words echoed the tone set by the children: "I want you to know I forgive you for the mess you have made. I pray for your healing for your sake and your beautiful kids."
The legal contest at sentencing centres on the weight to be given to Muliaga's diagnosed conditions. Defence barrister Michael McGrath acknowledged the gravity of the offending, noting that the victim was Muliaga's wife and that a weapon was used. But McGrath argued that Muliaga's limited capacity for emotional self-regulation, combined with what he described as morbid jealousy as a feature of his conditions, should reduce the court's assessment of his moral culpability. Muliaga had also demonstrated remorse, the barrister said.
Bourke, for the prosecution, pushed back on that framing. He argued the jealousy was independent of the diagnosed conditions and that while a prison term would be harder for Muliaga given his disability, that did not mean his moral culpability should be significantly reduced.
This is a genuine tension in sentencing law, and courts across Australia regularly grapple with how to weigh cognitive impairment against accountability for serious violence. The Supreme Court of Victoria has long recognised that intellectual disability can affect culpability without eliminating it entirely, and that community protection remains a legitimate sentencing consideration.
Cases like this one also sit within a broader and deeply troubling pattern. 1800RESPECT, the national domestic and family violence counselling service, continues to field hundreds of thousands of contacts each year from people in dangerous situations. The Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety has documented that intimate partner homicide remains the most common form of female homicide in this country. Behind every statistic are families like Lise Muliaga's: children drawing pictures of their mothers in heaven.
Justice James Gorton will sentence Rimoni Muliaga at a date yet to be set. The outcome will be scrutinised by advocates on multiple fronts, those who argue the justice system must send an unambiguous message about intimate partner violence, and those who contend that properly accounting for mental impairment in sentencing is itself a mark of a fair legal system. Both concerns are legitimate. What is beyond dispute is the cost already paid by five children in Melton South who chose, remarkably, to lead with grace.
If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000). Support is also available through Lifeline on 13 11 14.