12/07/2025
Hannah McGuire was just 23 when her life was taken in the most horrific way – killed in her own home, then burned in a car and dumped in bushland near Scarsdale.
Court proceedings have revealed chilling details of what prosecutors say was a calculated and deliberate act. Hannah had been trying to leave a toxic relationship. In March 2024, she told her mother she wouldn’t be going back.
That month, she was allegedly grabbed and shouted at in public, chased in a car while beer cans were hurled at her, and had her vehicle damaged.
In one incident, the accused allegedly used an angle grinder to remove part of her car and punched her driver’s door.
Two days before her death, he reportedly told a colleague he planned to drug her, stage a crash, and make it look like an accident – to “scare” her into giving up the house and their shared belongings.
On April 4, Hannah returned home just before 10pm. By early the next morning, she was dead.
The accused allegedly used her phone to send fake su***de texts to her mother and to himself. One message read: “I’m sorry Mum, I thought this was the right decision.” Another said: “Goodbye, Lach.”
Police allege he then drove to bushland, set her Mitsubishi Triton on fire – with Hannah’s body inside – and later deleted phone data and tried to cover his tracks.
Her mother went to the home that morning after receiving the texts. The accused reportedly claimed he had no idea where she was. Hours later, a bushwalker found the burned vehicle. Hannah’s body was inside.
The court heard their relationship was marked by control, abuse, and multiple intervention orders – including one issued just days before her death.
While the accused has admitted to killing Hannah, his defence claims it was not murder but a spontaneous act. Prosecutors say otherwise – pointing to the planning, the lies, and the attempted cover-up.
Hannah should have been safe. She should still be here. Instead, her final moments were taken from her, along with her future, by someone who refused to let her go.
Now, it’s up to the jury to decide whether justice will finally speak for Hannah – since she never got the chance to speak for herself.
