On September 22, 2018, Australian woman Maria Doris Axiak, 58, attacked her husband while he slept by pouring boiling water over his face and torso. His crime? He said he wanted out of the marriage.
That night, he told Axiak that he was unhappy and wanted a separation, NCA Newswire reported. He said he would sleep in the guest bedroom so that she could sleep in the master bedroom, and after he fell asleep, Axiak smoked a cigarette before disconnecting the landline so that he could not call for help. She then boiled a pot of water and poured it over him as he slept.
“She then drove out of the house, taking the (victim’s) mobile phone and car keys with her,” a police summary of the case said.
Her husband had to seek help at a neighbor’s house. He had to be put into an induced coma at the hospital and receive skin grafts, as the burns from Axiak’s attack covered 12% of his body.
After leaving the house, Axiak drove to her daughter’s home and told her “he deserves it.”
“Out of 20 years of misery, I want him to look in the mirror every day …” she reportedly said. “I took his keys and phone and I don’t give a f***.”
She later sent her daughter a “thumbs up” and “clapping hands” emojis to show excitement. She also wrote, “I hope they keep him there (in hospital) for at least a month.”
Axiak told police she did it because she was tired of her husband’s drinking and claimed he kept “spoiling her weekends.” She later claimed to the court that she “felt abused and controlled” by her husband.
“When he looks in the mirror he can see I’ve been hurt too,” she told police, adding she hoped he had blisters on his skin.
Newswire reported that Judge Claire Quin said Axiak told the court her parents were both alcoholics and that her mother was abusive. The outlet noted that Axiak “moved from Malta to Australia at age 18 with her first husband, with the ‘unhappy’ marriage ending after 10 years.”
The court was also told, according to Newswire, that Axiak “has major depression, bipolar, and PTSD, having undergone treatments including electroconvulsive therapy and had multiple voluntary and involuntary hospital admissions for mental health, the court heard.”
For this, Axiak was spared jail time for her attack, which left her husband with a perforated eardrum and burns to his head, right arm, shoulder, and torso.
“I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that your impaired mental functioning from PTSD is causally linked to the commission of the offence and that it substantially and materially reduces your culpability,” Judge Quin reportedly said.
Axiak did spend 37 days in prison prior to sentencing. Quin also said the woman has no prior convictions or history of alcohol or drug abuse.