R v Obiekie; R v Garaty

Background to the offending

1. From about March 2020 to the time of his arrest, the offender was living in boarding house accommodation at 114 Marion Street Bankstown ('114 Marion Street'). The offender rented and lived in a room on the ground floor of that premises which was boarding house style accommodation. The ground floor in particular contained four separate bedrooms and a shared kitchen and bathroom. The rooms were accessed by a central hallway from the front door, with the room occupied by the offender being the second room on the left upon entry. On the right-hand side along the common access hallway there was a black shelving unit. Apart from the room occupied by the offender, all of the remaining bedrooms on the ground floor at the time of the offender's arrest were unoccupied. There were locks on the front and back doors to the ground floor of the premises, and the bedrooms had separate keys, so that while each tenant had access to the common spaces, each could not have access to the bedrooms of co-tenants if those doors were locked.
2. At the time of the offending the offender was in a romantic relationship with the co-offender, Nicole Garaty ('Garaty').
3. In 2020, Garaty lived in a detached apartment or granny flat at 3 Olympic Parade Bankstown, which was rented from the owner Peter Nguyen ('Nguyen'). The offender was known to Nguyen as a boyfriend of Garaty, and she had been seen from time to time staying at the offender's 114 Marion Street residence.