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Tiwi Islander Sentenced to Life for Bangladeshi Student Murder in Darwin

  • 1:00 pm - December 09, 2025
  • English
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Darwin, 09 December: A Tiwi Islander man has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years for the brutal murder of Bangladeshi international student Md “Sifat” Isfakur Rahman in Darwin.

Brendon Cantilla, 31, was found guilty after a jury rejected his defence argument of significant cognitive impairment. Rahman, 23, had arrived in Australia only three months earlier and was living in an overcrowded share house in Milner with 13 other students.

Prosecutors told the court that on 3 May 2023, after a verbal dispute, Cantilla returned to the house, entered through the back door and attacked the sleeping Rahman. He was struck first with a paver and then beaten with a fire extinguisher, causing catastrophic head injuries. Rahman died in hospital after 30 hours on life support.

While the defence argued for a manslaughter conviction due to Cantilla’s IQ of 62, prosecutors said the attack was deliberate and that he understood his actions.

The case has also highlighted serious concerns about unsafe and overcrowded accommodation for international students in Darwin, where Rahman paid $100 a week to share a severely congested three-bedroom house amid rising rents and a shortage of proper student housing.

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