‘Shocked’ family of mother killed in alleged fatal sword attack unites in grief with dreadlocked woman who escaped brutal ax horror

EXCLUSIVE

A woman who nearly died in a random axe attack has launched a GoFundMe appeal for the mother-of-three who was allegedly murdered in a horrific sword attack last week.

Annette Kiss, 53, is believed to have died when her new housemate Benjamin Art, 42, attacked her with a sword, meat cleaver and hammer last Thursday at their shared home in Russell Lea, in Sydney’s west.

When police arrived, they allegedly found Art lying on Ms Kiss’ body with the sword in a harrowing scene that devastated first responders.

Today, family friend Sharon Hacker launched a GoFundMe for Ms Kiss’s family after revealing she was close friends with the mother-of-four’s eldest son.

But she is united in grief with her family after suffering her own terrorist attack seven years ago when a crazed trans woman tried to chop off her head with an axe.

Ms Hacker was buying milk at an Enmore service station in Sydney’s west in 2017 when she was attacked by the mentally ill attacker in a horrific scene compared to a Quentin Tarantino film.

Evie Amati, now 31, had decided to murder three strangers when she attacked a man at the gas station, punching him in the face.

“She then immediately turned towards me and with both hands she reached through and hit me on the back of the head,” Ms Hacker revealed after the attack.

Ms. Hacker, who wears dreadlocks, said authorities told her her thick, braided hairstyle saved her life during the brutal attack.

“They said I was lucky to still have a head,” she revealed. “They said it was like a Quentin Tarantino movie.”

A court heard Amati had been on a Tinder date before the late-night attack and was shamed for being transgender before taking a cocktail of drink and drugs.

She was sentenced to a minimum of eight years in prison for the attack, with her sentence almost doubled on appeal.

Today his victim, Ms Hacker, 50, launched a GoFundMe appeal for the heartbroken children of Ms Kiss, who had only moved into the shared flat five weeks earlier.

Police say her roommate Art entered the house brandishing weapons, yelled at his four roommates to sit down and began showing Ms. Kiss text messages from an unknown sender on her phone.

“You’re trying to set me up, who did you ask to try to kill me? Who’s the chick texting me?” he allegedly yelled, according to court documents.

“You’re trying to frame me or get me killed, now you’re trying to kill me.”

Art allegedly held Ms Kiss by the neck before grabbing the cleaver, while another roommate used a chair to try to stop the alleged attack before fleeing and calling police.

Detectives later said it was one of the worst crime scenes they had ever encountered.

A neighbor told Daily Mail Australia on Friday that the surviving housemates were “too traumatized” to return to the house and collect their belongings.

Days after the horrific attack, Ms Hacker launched a campaign to raise money for Ms Kiss’s three adult children – Six, Samuel and Hayely.

“On June 27, someone took the life of Annette Kiss,” she wrote in her appeal.

“It was a huge shock and now his three children are working to pick up the pieces and give him a meaningful goodbye.

“Given the nature of his death, this is a more complex case than usual and his children have to take considerable time not only to deal with his affairs and estate but also possibly the legal matters to hopefully obtain justice.

“There was no warning about his death so the family dropped everything to make sure the funeral went smoothly and the sudden influx of costs is quite stressful for them.

“What makes it difficult is that there is no way to plan everything, because it all depends on the police and the procedures. »

In a touching message, she notably declared that her eldest son Six had supported her in the same way after her violent attack.

“When I was attacked he created a Go Fund Me and your support helped me not lose my business while I recovered,” she added.

“Any assistance now is much appreciated to help sort out his affairs and help Six during this devastating time.”

The fundraiser has already raised $7,450 of $10,000.

On Friday, Art was represented by lawyer Javid Faiz in Parramatta Bail Court on Friday. He did not request bail, but it was formally refused.

“My client understands the seriousness of the case,” Mr Faiz said outside court, according to the Daily Telegraph.

“He asked me not to apply for release today.”

His case will return to Burwood Local Court on August 22.

Superintendent Christine McDonald said Thursday that Art had no violent history and was not in a romantic relationship with Ms Kiss.

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