Death of Maria Korp
Maria Korp | |
---|---|
Victoria, Australia | |
Body discovered | Kings Domain, Melbourne (car boot) |
Nationality | Australian |
Known for | Murder victim |
Spouse | Joe Korp (1991–2005; her death) |
Maria Korp (born Maria Matilde; 14 January 1955 – 5 August 2005)[1] was a Portuguese-born Australian woman reported missing for four days and later found, barely alive, in the boot of her car on 13 February 2005.[2] She spent a short time in a coma before emerging into a state of post-coma unresponsiveness. She became the centre of a controversy in Australia during 2005. Depending upon their viewpoint, people have characterised the controversy as being about euthanasia or about human rights and protecting people with disabilities.
On 26 July 2005 Victoria's Public Advocate, Julian Gardner, announced that the feeding tube to Korp would cease to be used for providing artificial nutrition and hydration, that palliative care would be implemented and that she was expected to die within 7 to 14 days.[3] Korp died on 5 August 2005. Her husband's mistress, Tania Herman, pleaded guilty on 8 June 2005 to attempted murder, and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment; husband Joe Korp, also charged with her attempted murder, committed suicide on the day of her funeral.
Investigation
The brother of Korp's husband, Gust Korp, had earlier reported his concerns about Korp's safety to police on 9 February 2005.
On 16 February 2005, police charged Joe Korp, 47, and his mistress Tania Herman, 38, with the attempted murder of Korp, conspiracy to murder, and intentionally causing serious injury. Both appeared the following day in Melbourne Magistrates' Court and were remanded in custody. On 28 April 2005, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal appointed Victoria's Public Advocate, Julian Gardner as Korp's legal guardian.[3]
Herman pleaded guilty on 8 June to the attempted murder of Korp (this charge was not upgraded to murder when Korp subsequently died) and was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of nine years.[6] Joe Korp pleaded not guilty on all charges and was later released on bail on 9 June, and committed to stand trial. A further charge of murder had been expected to be laid against him, and he had applied for bail modification so that he could visit his dying wife in hospital.[7] Gardner, who had authority to determine access to Korp, approved a visit supervised by his staff and police.
Euthanasia controversy
On 26 July, Gardner announced that medical treatment for Korp in the form of artificial nutrition and hydration would cease, that palliative care treatment would be provided and that she was expected to die within one to two weeks. Her condition had been declining, and medical staff could no longer stabilise her condition. "The treating team at the Alfred Hospital has advised me that her condition is now terminal", Gardner said.[8]
Anti-
An appeal against Gardner's appointment—as a legal means of challenging his decision—as Korp's guardian was reportedly considered by opponents of his decision but no appeal was made. The protest group's spokesperson reported to the media that they would be willing to give anything a try in order to stop her from dying from starvation. Korp's husband had publicly stated through his lawyers that he would fight in the courts any attempt to withdraw medical treatment. It was for that reason that the hospital sought the appointment of a guardian. It was only after Gardner approved his visit to Korp that he changed his mind. Her daughter, Laura De Gois, indicated that she did not oppose Gardner's decision.
According to an
The controversy was heightened by the fact that it occurred at the end of the internationally publicised controversy about Terri Schiavo, an American woman in a vegetative state (for a decade or more longer than Korp) whose artificial treatment and hydration was ceased following a decision by her husband that was made after numerous court cases which ultimately confirmed his authority to do so. Although Gardner was at pains to state that the actions did not amount to euthanasia (he noted that medical treatment decisions such as this had been authorised by the Supreme Court,[11] and that euthanasia was unlawful) the raw nerve that the case touched among many people did not stop some of those who either supported or opposed euthanasia characterising it as such.
Aftermath
Korp died at 2 a.m. on Friday, 5 August 2005, and her funeral mass was held one week later. Forbidden by family to attend the service, Joe Korp invited the media to a private funeral ceremony at his home where he sang "Unchained Melody" and "The Lady in Red". That night he contacted his first wife and then a newspaper journalist, telling both that he intended to hang himself in his garage. Both contacted police who rushed to the house to find him standing on a ladder with a noose around his neck while talking on a mobile phone. According to the police report, he was looking at them through the garage window when the ladder tipped over. Police believe he may have been trying to regain his footing when the ladder fell. Surrounding his body were photographs of Korp, football memorabilia, and notes professing his innocence.[3] The media reported that he was on the phone to his solicitor at the time he died and that the coroner's toxicology report indicated an alcohol reading of 0.15.[12][13]
In January 2013, Herman applied for permission to marry fellow inmate Nicole Muscat.[14] On 14 February 2014, Herman was released on parole after serving a little over eight years in the Dame Phyllis Frost maximum-security prison.[15]
In popular culture
The story was portrayed in the 2006 book The Maria Korp Case: The Woman in the Boot Story by
The story of her death inspired the
See also
References
- ^ a b "Loving mother and betrayed wife". The Age. Australian Associated Press. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ a b "Missing woman found alive in car boot". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 February 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
- ^ a b c d e "Case 82: Maria Korp – Casefile: True Crime Podcast". Casefile: True Crime Podcast. 22 April 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
- ^ Crawford, Carly "the Maria Korp Case" Harper Collins 2006 page 16
- ^ Silvester, John; Milovanovic, Selma (18 February 2006). "Boot victim may never testify". The Age. Melbourne.
- ^ R v Herman [2005] VSC 234 (1 July 2005), Supreme Court (Vic.
- ^ "Key dates in Maria Korp saga". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 August 2005.
- ^ "Accused husband asks to visit dying wife". Australia: ABC News. 27 July 2005.
- ^ Crawford, Carly "the Maria Korp Case" Harper Collins 2006 page 266
- ^ Bunworth, Mick (26 July 2005). "Korp's feeding tube to be removed" (transcript). Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ^ Gardner re BWV [2003] VSC 173, Supreme Court (Vic).
- ISBN 9780733622779Pg 208 – 209
- ^ "Joe Korp's death may have been accident". The Age. Melbourne. 27 May 2006.
- ^ Flower, Wayne (11 January 2013). "Tania Herman plans to marry lesbian lover during jailtime over strangling death of Maria Korp". The Sun-Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ Argoon, Ashley (14 February 2014). "Tania Herman released from prison, picked up by lesbian lover Nicky Muscat on Valentine's Day". The Sun-Herald. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "The Maria Korp Case: The Woman in the Boot Story". HarperCollins Australia. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story, retrieved 3 March 2020
- ^ Wicked love : the Maria Korp story (DVD ed.). [Australia] : Hopscotch Entertainment : Roadshow Entertainment [distributor]. 2010.
- ^ "Wicked Love: The Maria Korp Story". TV Tonight. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
- ^ Hanusiak, Xenia (12 May 2012). "Notes from a lethal love affair". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 May 2017.
External links
- Korp's family to decide her fate
- Korp car pulled by eBay