Russell Lea stabbing: Annette Kiss' tragically unlikely chain of events - before she was allegedly butchered with a monstrous array of weapons
Annette Kiss allegedly murdered by her new housemateReason she was forced to move can now be revealed
A single mum-of-two was forced to move in with her alleged killer when she refused to pay a rent increase and her home's garage burnt down when an e-bike exploded, as details of her troubled life were revealed by neighbours.
Annette Kiss, 53, was allegedly stabbed to death by her new housemate Benjamin Art, 42, at their sharehouse in Russell Lea, western Sydney, on Thursday.
Ms Kiss had only moved in with two others five weeks ago, before Art moved into the shed at the front of the property just two weeks before the alleged murder.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal Ms Kiss had faced a series of shocking incidents at her former rental home in Strathfield.
Neighbours claim she was beaten up and hospitalised, cars were regularly fire-bombed, screaming could be heard from inside, and police were frequent visitors to the address.
One local said they believed they had heard someone being raped inside the home, but the situation did not involve Ms Kiss.
In May, she was forced to vacate the $760-a-week property because she disputed a rental increase, and didn't pay rent for 57 days until she owed the landlord $6,188.
The property was re-listed for rent on Thursday for $850-a-week, but with a $50 discount due to the scorched shed.
![Annette Kiss, 55, was allegedly murdered by her new housemate on Thursday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86681441-13578949-Annette_Kiss_55_was_allegedly_murdered_by_her_new_housemate_on_T-a-3_1719563831147.jpg)
Annette Kiss, 55, was allegedly murdered by her new housemate on Thursday morning
![Benjamin Art (pictured) is accused of stabbing Annette Kiss to death with a sword](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/07/86681449-13578949-Benjamin_Art_pictured_is_accused_of_stabbing_Annette_Kiss_to_dea-a-10_1719556756531.jpg)
Benjamin Art (pictured) is accused of stabbing Annette Kiss to death with a sword
![Pictured: The house where Annette Kiss was allegedly murdered. Neigbours said Benjamin Art lived in the shed, and Ms Kiss would use the fire drum on the shed to burn things](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/07/86687027-13578949-Pictured_The_house_where_Annette_Kiss_was_allegedly_murdered_Nei-a-11_1719556756532.jpg)
Pictured: The house where Annette Kiss was allegedly murdered. Neigbours said Benjamin Art lived in the shed, and Ms Kiss would use the fire drum on the shed to burn things
One neighbour said the house was 'trashed' by the time she exited the property and Ms Kiss had been a hoarder who left the driveway 'full of junk'.
'There were always lots of dodgy-looking people living there,' they said. 'You never knew who was coming or going.
'The police were always coming round and she refused to let them inside.'
They said Ms Kiss was brutally beaten up about six weeks ago but initially refused to go to hospital, until she finally relented and was admitted for four days.
When she finally left the property, the kitchen stove was missing, along with roof tiles.
'It took weeks for them to clean up the mess she made and left them with,' they said.
'She wasn't a bad person but we were relieved to see her go.'
Documents from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, obtained by Daily Mail Australia, show Ms Kiss and her former landlord, Jung Won Yoon, went to court over her unpaid rent.
![Pictured: The burnt shed at Ms Kiss' old rental in Strathfield. She moved out due to a rental increase](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86686763-13578949-Pictured_The_burnt_shed_at_Ms_Kiss_old_rental_in_Strathfield_She-a-2_1719563831119.jpg)
Pictured: The burnt shed at Ms Kiss' old rental in Strathfield. She moved out due to a rental increase
![The shed burnt down when an e-bike caught fire. She was also $6,188 in rental arrears](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86686773-13578949-The_shed_burnt_down_when_an_e_bike_caught_fire_She_was_also_6_18-a-6_1719563831154.jpg)
The shed burnt down when an e-bike caught fire. She was also $6,188 in rental arrears
According to the documents, she 'frequently failed to pay rent to water usage charges' and racked up a huge debt.
She did not attend the hearing and, in her absence, was ordered to pay her landlord $108.57 per day from the day after the lease was terminated on May 15.
The NCAT documents did not mention the e-bike fire.
Neighbours at her new home in Russell Lea said Ms Kiss would stand out the front and burn items in a fire drum after 8pm.
'Our house would fill up with smoke,' one neighbour said.
'I asked her to stop with the burning and offered her our bins and she got a bit sh***y in an "I can do what I want"-type attitude.
'She was with some unsavoury characters so I backed off a bit and she continued to burn stuff - and I'm talking huge flames each night over the last three weeks.'
On the morning Ms Kiss died, Art allegedly ran into the house brandishing two knives, a sword and a meat cleaver.
![Pictured: A former flatmate outside the crime scene on Friday morning](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86687011-13578949-Pictured_A_former_flatmate_outside_the_crime_scene_on_Friday_mor-a-5_1719563831149.jpg)
Pictured: A former flatmate outside the crime scene on Friday morning
![Police swarmed the crime scene in Russell Lea on Thursday and Friday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/09/86687033-13578949-Police_swarmed_the_crime_scene_in_Russell_Lea_on_Thursday_and_Fr-a-4_1719563831149.jpg)
Police swarmed the crime scene in Russell Lea on Thursday and Friday
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EXCLUSIVE
Annette narrowly a house fire - weeks later, she was allegedly murdered by a new housemate
![article image](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/06/28/04/86681441-0-image-a-36_1719545809118.jpg)
He allegedly yelled at his four housemates to sit down, and started showing Ms Kiss texts from an unknown sender on his phone.
'You're trying to set me up, who you got to try and kill me? Who's the chick texting me?' he yelled, police allege in court documents.
'You're trying to set me up or get me killed, now you're trying to kill me.'
Art allegedly held Ms Kiss by the neck before he grabbed the cleaver, while another female housemate tried to stop the alleged attack with a chair before she fled and called police.
Detectives later said it was one of the worst crime scenes they'd ever encountered.
Another neighbour said the surviving housemates are 'too traumatised' to return to the home and collect their things.
Art was represented by solicitor Javid Faiz in Parramatta Bail Court on Friday. He did not apply for bail but it was formally refused.
His matter will return to Burwood Local Court on August 22.