A Sydney mother-of-two has been remembered as someone who lit up every room before she was murdered by her partner at home.
Vincent Carlino, 40, pleaded guilty to the July 2022 murder of Shereen Kumar.
Carlino wrapped his partner’s body in black plastic bags before he dumped her in bushland near their home in Dural in Sydney’s north-west.
He then told police she went missing after going for a walk in her pyjamas.
Speaking outside the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday, friend Erika Wadlow-Smith said Ms Kumar had a kindness that was not often seen.
‘She was a very measured, capable woman, who was there for other people, loved everything, especially dogs,’ she said.
‘She was extraordinary, she lit up every room that she walked into.’
Ms Wadlow-Smith said politicians needed to work to address domestic violence and to stop more women from losing their lives.
Mother-of-two Shereen Kumar was murdered by Vincent Carlino in 2022
Vincent Carlino and Shereen Kumar shared a dog walking business
‘That is at the root of so many relationships going on in homes around Australia and the world at the moment,’ she said.
‘We have to look to rectifying it and stopping this onslaught.’
Justice Sarah McNaughton was brought to tears in court as she recalled the victim impact statement read by a family member.
Justice McNaughton sentenced Carlino to 21 years in prison, and 15 years without parole.
‘This was an attack on a woman in her own home where she was entitled to feel safe and secure,’ she said.
Carlino did not intend to kill Ms Kumar but he did want to cause grievous bodily harm, Justice McNaughton said.
She described his steps to cover up the murder as ‘deceptive’.
The court heard Carlino struck Ms Kumar in the face, head and neck and strangled her, NCA Newswire reported.
Vincent Carlino pleaded guilty to the murder of Shereen Kumar
A post-mortem determined she died from neck compression.
Following her disappearance, Carlino was said to have searched for OJ Simpson online and accessed a news story about Ms Kumar’s disappearance.
On the day of Ms Kumar’s death, he tried calling her more than 120 times in less than an hour. Carlino had no previous convictions and was medicated for anxiety and depression.
‘It’s clear that Mr Carlino will require ongoing support and therapy, especially if he is with another domestic partner,’ Justice McNaughton said.
The court was told on Friday the couple had a tumultuous 17-month relationship after meeting in 2021 and shared a dog walking business.
In July 2022, he texted Ms Kumar: ‘I’m a manipulative asshole that doesn’t deserve love or cannot give love’ and ‘I feel nothing positive in your heart to me’, Newswire reported.
In a lengthy letter to the court earlier this year, Carlino said he would live with the burden of guilt for the rest of his life.
‘I am filled with profound remorse and guilt for my actions,’ he said.
‘I cannot sufficiently express the depth of the sorrow that I feel for the pain I have caused to Shereen’s family and friends. I wish more than anything to turn back time and avoid this tragedy.
‘I would like to offer my deepest apology to the Kumar family. I will be eternally plagued by my decisions, reactions and behaviour on this day.’
He will be eligible for release in July 2037.
