'She came to Australia to kill': Burqa-clad Bangladeshi international student refuses to stand for the judge as she's jailed for 42 years for cowardly stabbing her innocent homestay host
- Shoma, then 24, had been in Australia on a student visa for just a week
- Justice Lesley Ann Taylor on Wednesday sentenced Shoma to 42 years' jail
- Crime described as 'despicable' and 'cowardly'
A Bangladeshi student who stabbed her Melbourne homestay host in a terror act has been jailed for 42 years.
Momena Shoma, who refused to stand for the judge, admitted engaging in a terror act when she plunged a knife into Roger Singaravelu's neck while he dozed beside his five-year-old daughter inside his Mill Park home on February 9, 2018.
Shoma, then 24, had been in Australia on a student visa for just a week when she attacked Mr Singaravelu in the name of violent jihad, using a 25cm kitchen knife.
Justice Lesley Ann Taylor on Wednesday sentenced Shoma to 42 years' jail with a non-parole period of 31 years and six months, calling the crime 'despicable' and 'cowardly'.
Momena Shoma, 24, who refused to stand for the Melbourne judge, fronted court in a burqa showing just her eyes
Diminutive Shoma (above) only came to Australia to kill someone
'This Australian family, generous enough to open their home to a stranger, now suffers physically, emotionally and financially,' she said.
The young woman was enrolled in a masters of linguistics at La Trobe University but had been looking to attack someone since arriving in Australia.
She told police she had practised the attack by stabbing a pillow while staying with a different family but chose to attack Mr Singaravelu because he was vulnerable.
Shoma plunged a knife into her homestay host Roger Singaravelu's (pictured left) neck while he dozed beside his five-year-old daughter
A bloody chair was pictured outside the home immediately after the brutal attack
Her victim has previously told the Supreme Court he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since the attack, took a cocktail of medication and used alcohol to try and forget what happened to him.
'I relive the attack, the look on her face and the blood splattered on the wall,' Mr Singaravelu said in a statement.
The man's daughter also suffered from PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares.
The diminutive Shoma, dressed in a black Niqab showing only her eyes, did not stand for the judge.
Shoma (left in chains on Wednesday, right in an older photo) told police she had practised the attack by stabbing a pillow while staying with a different family
Bangladeshi national Shoma was one student to take advantage of Mr Singaravelu's generosity, staying with the nurse at his home (pictured) in Mill Park, northeast Melbourne
