A woman and her boyfriend allegedly murdered her former lover during a drug-fuelled love triangle before hiding the victim’s body in a child’s wardrobe, the Western Australian Supreme Court has heard.
Hannah Louise Glover, 30, and James Anthony Sorgiovanni, 29, deny murdering Tara Marie Morrison, 38, at their home in Busselton, about 220km south of Perth, in April 2024.
Prosecutor Michael Cvetkoski said Ms Morrison had been repeatedly stabbed to her head, neck, body and hands. She suffered about 40 wounds, as well as grazes and bruising which could suggest she had been restrained.
“The deceased didn’t have an opportunity to arm herself because it was two against one,” Mr Cvetkoski told the court. “The stabbing was sustained with the intention of ending Tara Morrison’s life.”
Her partially clothed and bloodied body was allegedly left inside a wardrobe in a child’s bedroom. Police body-worn camera footage showed the body slumped inside, while a bloodied shoe print allegedly belonging to Sorgiovanni was found nearby.
Police were called after Glover’s mother raised concerns about her granddaughter, who also lived at the property. Investigators found blood across the walls, doors and floor, while a neighbour reported hearing a woman screaming before the sound suddenly stopped.
“The screaming sounded like a woman was in pain and distress . . . before it suddenly stopped,” Mr Cvetkoski said. “She was screaming in pain, fighting for her life.”
Ms Morrison’s bloody palm print was discovered on the home’s front glass door. The prosecutor said she had been trying to escape the property during the attack.
Glover and Sorgiovanni were allegedly captured on CCTV leaving on a scooter after turning on the gas, apparently in an attempt to set the house alight. Investigators also found a clump of Ms Morrison’s hair in the kitchen sink and the home’s security system, which Glover allegedly tried to destroy.
Images recovered from the system allegedly showed Glover wearing a blood-stained hoodie. Three knives and sheaths were found at the property, with Glover’s palm print and Ms Morrison’s blood allegedly detected on some of them. A further two knives were allegedly found when Sorgiovanni was arrested, including one bearing Ms Morrison’s blood.
Competing accounts of the Busselton murder
The court heard Glover and Sorgiovanni had begun their relationship in the months before Ms Morrison’s death. Before that, Glover had been in a sexual relationship with Ms Morrison, and the trio had used illicit drugs before the alleged killing.
While in custody, Glover began a relationship with a woman who was covertly working for police. Mr Cvetkoski said Glover told the woman that Sorgiovanni had restrained Ms Morrison while she stabbed her to death.
Glover also allegedly said she had killed Ms Morrison after seeing her inject her daughter with drugs.
Glover’s lawyer told the court her client had been at the house but that Sorgiovanni was responsible for the killing. Sorgiovanni’s defence team has put forward the opposing account.
His lawyer, Lisa Boston, said Sorgiovanni had taken GHB, also known as Fantasy, and passed out before waking to find Glover attacking Ms Morrison with a knife.
“He wanted to stop Glover; he could not,” Ms Boston said.
