Tara Brown Murder Case Who Is Her Killer? Where Is He Now?

On September 8, 2015, Tara Brown, 24, was killed by her ex-partner Lionel Patea in a horrifying act of domestic violence after she had dropped off their 3-year-old daughter at a daycare facility in Molendinar.

On September 8, 2015, Tara Brown, 24, was killed by her ex-partner Lionel Patea in a horrifying act of domestic violence after she had dropped off their 3-year-old daughter at a daycare facility in Molendinar.

As Tara was trapped in her overturned car, Patea pursued her, ran her car off the road, and beat her nearly 30 times in the head and face with a steel hydrant cover.

The couple had a three-year-old daughter together and had been dating since 2011.

Since then, Queensland Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley’s findings have been made public, revealing shocking new information regarding the events leading up to Ms. Brown’s death.

According to the allegations, Patea continuously hit the young woman and allegedly encouraged Bandidos members to beat up one of her acquaintances with whom he believed she had a s*xual relationship.

Patea admitted to killing Tara Brown and was given a 20-year prison term in September 2015. According to the data, twenty-seven lethality risk indicators were present at the time of Ms. Brown’s death.

What happened with Tara Brown?

Ms. Brown had split from Patea and was residing with her mother as of June 2012.

On July 12, 2012, Patea called Brown 30 times and sent her 12 texts. She claimed that in the days before her murder, she received hundreds of threatening texts and called daily.

The study revealed that Patea has a history of being very envious and used to frequently call her while the couple wasn’t together. 

When she traveled for touch football contests with her male teammates, he paid for her to stay in motels apart from the rest of the team.

In addition, Patea tried to take control of every part of her life. He had her pay rent for staying in his house and occasionally took money out of her account, leaving her with only $8.

Patea’s history of assaulting Ms. Brown, his threats to kill himself, and his attempts to keep her away from her friends and family made him a prime suspect in the murder.

In May 2012, Patea arrived at the hospital, where Ms. Brown was delivering, and he threatened to slice her mother’s neck because he believed she had “ignored” him. Tara immediately reported the violence to the police. 

Not only this, but Patea was also accused of strangling Ms. Brown when she was pregnant, pushing her down the stairs, and threatening to slash their dog’s neck and beat her brother.

In another incident, she had stopped at a gas station to buy a chocolate bar, but Patea grew so angry that he nearly ripped off her dress, spat at her, threw a bucket at her, and referred to her as a “putrid dog mongrel s**t.”

Ms. Brown said her spouse had broken her windscreen and threatened her with a revolver while she was terrified to file a formal complaint.

Five days before her passing on September 3, according to Ms. Bentley, the investigating officer, Ms. Brown, went to the police to request a domestic violence protection order.

One officer told an internal investigation that it was “commonplace for women to make false allegations to further their position in Family Court matters,” despite her cries for assistance.

Also, according to the state coroner, Brown saw a member of Patea’s family outside the station and expressed worry that they might be keeping an eye on her.

Ms. Brown further disclosed that Patea had threatened her with scissors while she was held down on the bed.

He recorded that scissors fell out of Mr. Patea’s pocket after he pushed her onto the bed and that it was not a violent push.

Ms. Brown resisted signing a statement describing what happened.

The day of Brown’s murder

As Patea chased Ms. Brown’s hatchback down with a four-wheel-drive on September 8, 2015, the day of her murder, she had just dropped off her three-year-old daughter Aria at daycare.

Ultimately, Patea rear-ended Ms. Brown’s car, knocking her down an embankment and locking her inside the flipping car.

He repeatedly bashed her skull with a metal block that weighed 7.8 kg that he had collected from the side of the road, inflicting “non-survivable” brain lesions.

More than a dozen “thumping” sounds were caught over the phone as emergency personnel listened helplessly to the mother’s cries for assistance.

It was later discovered that Patea had threatened Ms. Brown with scissors to the throat in the days preceding her death after learning she had been meeting another guy.

The arrest of Lionel Patea

In 2017, Lionel Patea admitted to killing his ex-girlfriend Tara Brown in front of a packed Brisbane courtroom. 

Former Bandidos bikie Patea, 25, was scheduled to go on trial for a week, and Patea altered his plea and admitted murder as scores of members of Brown’s family and friends packed Brisbane supreme court.

His hands were tied together, and he wore a blue suit and black tie. As Brown’s mother, Natalie Hinton, described the “monster” who took her daughter’s life in front of the court, he displayed no emotion.

Patea claimed that his family, who had urged him to own up to his acts, had given him their full support when he entered a guilty plea.

Patea stated in a statement read outside of court by his attorney Campbell McCallum: “I do not intend to inflict Tara’s family with any additional suffering or postpone their quest for justice. I accept the sentence that the legal system has placed upon me today without reservation. I will also finally stand before God for judgment. I’m aware that neither Tara nor I will ever be pardoned. I hope to prevent any additional potential misery and pain for Tara’s family today.

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