Mother’s pain as spree killer admits to dumping daughter’s body in woodland grave but insists he didn’t kill her

Susan Iramiyan will never forget her daughter or the agonizing wait to find her remains after she was brutally murdered by an unstable and abusive lover.

Mayraum Hamka disappeared without a trace after a trip to her local Woolworths in April 2021.

The 36-year-old’s family lived in hope for almost two-and-a-half years that she would be found alive before her then-boyfriend Toby Peter Loughnane led police to her remains in a shallow grave in nearby woodland.

The 44-year-old woman admitted disposing of Ms Hamka’s body but maintained she did not kill her and that she died of an accidental drug overdose.

But he was found guilty of her murder following a three-week trial earlier this year before appearing at a pre-sentence hearing in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday afternoon.

Loughnane appeared uninterested in the proceedings as he leaned back in his chair and stared around the large courtroom throughout the hearing.

His lawyer, Daniel Sala, told the court Loughnane claimed he was innocent of murder and that Ms Hamka died of a drug overdose.

Maryam Hamka went missing after a visit to the local supermarket in April 2021.

For almost two years, his mother, Susan Iramian, lived in hope that he would be found alive.

Prosecutors argued Loughnane died in a drug-fueled attack with ‘intent to kill’ in the early hours of April 11, 2021, before he moved on and buried his body days later.

However, due to the condition in which his body was found, a mechanism for his death could not be established.

Prosecutor Kristie Churchill argued there was sufficient evidence to show the pair had a ‘brief romantic relationship characterized by control, violence and abuse’.

The court was told Loughnane sent ‘extremely abusive and threatening’ text messages to Ms Hamka in the 12 months before she was killed.

“This is a more serious example of murder because it occurs in an environment of violence and threats,” Ms Churchill said.

‘On the night in question he violently murdered her and… attempted to cover up his involvement in the murder by extreme actions.’

But Ms Churchill said the prosecution was not seeking a life sentence.

Miss Hamka’s ex-boyfriend Toby Loughnane found guilty of murder

Ms Hamka was last seen on CCTV leaving Woolworths supermarket in Brunswick on April 10 and was reported missing by her family days later.

In her statement to the court, her mother, Susan Iramiyan, said that her daughter “loves life very much.”

‘I feel guilty even when I’m enjoying life; I am hurt, angry and numb. “Every day I think about the pain my daughter is going through and it breaks my heart all over again,” she said.

Ms Iramiyan said she left the home they once shared because the memories were too painful and she dreamed of her daughter screaming for help.

‘We waited two long years to bring him into our home,’ he wrote.

‘No words can explain the pain and suffering… I would never wish this on anyone.’

His brother said no amount of punishment would bring his sister back but he had the ‘intense hope’ that holding Loughnane accountable for his actions would bring some consequence.

Ms Hamka was captured on CCTV leaving the Woolworths supermarket in Brunswick city center on April 10, 2021. This was the last time he was seen alive.

At the hearing, Loughnane claimed Ms Hamka died of a drug overdose at her home in Brighton and that he panicked and disposed of her body out of fear he would be falsely accused.

He denied killing Ms Hamka and offered to plead guilty to the lesser charge of negligent manslaughter.

On Friday, Mr Sala revealed Loughnane had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter ahead of a trial in March, but this had been rejected by the prosecution.

Regarding the offer that was not presented to the jury, the lawyer said, “He used violence and the woman died as a result of this violence.”

Loughnane admits dumping his girlfriend’s body but continues to claim he did not kill her

Mr Sala told the court his client was the eldest of three brothers who had a good childhood, but after his father’s death he became involved with drugs and poor peer groups.

Ms Hamka’s body was found covered in lime in an isolated bushland at Cape Schnack on the Mornington Peninsula after Loughnane led police to the area in August 2023.

The fracture to his skull was explained by his legal team at trial as the result of being dragged through bushes rather than evidence of a violent attack.

Judge Christopher Beale told the court Loughnane was aware that his old friend Oscar Newman had come to give information to police, and that the statement was “self-serving” rather than evidence of remorse.

Ms Hamka’s family (pictured) say they will never recover from her tragic death

‘I’m not convinced of any regrets at this stage,’ he said.

‘In a case like this, more than two years have passed and it only happened after Oscar Newman implicated your client.’

But Judge Beale said Loughnane would receive a reduced sentence for taking his body to police because there was ‘real value’ in encouraging others to help police in this way.

Loughnane will be sentenced on December 18.