Craig Levy pleaded guilty to killing Ramis Jonuzi after renting out a room in his home in Brighton East on Airbnb to him on October 25, 2016.Source:Supplied
A FORMER chef has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a Melbourne Airbnb guest, who was found face down in chocolate cake with choke hold-like injuries.
Craig Levy, 37, on Monday appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where he admitted killing Ramis Jonuzi, 36, on October 25 last year.
His plea of guilty to manslaughter came after the charge was downgraded from murder.
A pathologist previously told a committal hearing in Melbourne Magistrates Court that Mr Jonuzi had suffered a broken nose, bruises and abrasions to his face, and injuries indicating sustained pressure to his neck.
The cause of death was deemed to be compression of the neck, aggravated by blood in the lungs.
He agreed Mr Jonuzi may have died from a “choke hold”, where pressure is applied with an arm around a person’s throat.
The court was also told Levy called police seeking Mr Jonuzi be removed from his home after a dispute over rent at the Airbnb house turned violent.
The victim had a “modest” amount of the drug ice in his system, the pathologist added.
When police arrived, they found Mr Jonuzi lifeless and face down in chocolate cake in the front yard.
The trio at the scene – Levy, along with co-accused Ryan Smart and Jason Colton – were arrested and initially charged with murder.
Smart pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May while Colton is yet to plead. Levy, a former Brighton East resident, is due to return to court on September 17 for a pre-sentence plea hearing.
On Monday, 37-year-old Craig Levy appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where he admitted killing Ramis Jonuzi, 36, in October.
Levy’s co-accused Ryan Smart pleaded guilty to manslaughter in May, while a third man, Jason Colton, is yet to plead.