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Talaat Hawatt is in custody after his wife was found dead in their Belmore unit.
He was arrested in Lebanon in 2015 after officials suspected he had links with Islamic State or a similar extremist group.
“I only became aware of that incident later on this morning, but that doesn’t seem to appear to be related to where we’re investigating,” Waldau said.
Social media posts reveal Talaat had married Bakkour Hawatt that year, the ceremony taking place in Lebanon before his arrest, his uncle told media at the time.
Talaat was later released without charge and there is no suggestion he was a member of ISIS or any extremist group, only that he was arrested.
In the decade since his return to Australia, Talaat has become known as a repeat domestic violence and weapons offender, racking up multiple AVOs and criminal charges, police confirmed.
Waldau confirmed Talaat’s offending landed him on the radar of the specialist anti-domestic violence Amarok squad.
In 2010, Talaat Hawatt (right) was arrested following a shooting at his uncle Rodney’s (left) hotel room in Thailand.Credit: www.ok.ru
Campsie police visited the Belmore unit just days ago after Talaat became involved in a “minor interaction” with a school teacher, Superintendent Waldau said, but no offences were committed.
There had also been compliant checks in August.
“There was only minimal interaction with him that Campsie police have had in the last 12 months,” Waldau said.
“So at this stage there is nothing that Campsie police have failed to do, or NSW Police have failed to do, that we can see in any of the matters that we’ve had with him.”
Police cordoned off Knox Street while they investigate Khouloud Bakkour Hawatt’s death.Credit: Rhett Wyman
One neighbour told the Herald the woman was a mother of five whose children often ran around the apartment making noise. All the children are primary, preschool age or younger.
“I don’t complain because what can you do? It would be hard with five kids,” the neighbour said.
The neighbour said police had frequently been called out to the unit after disturbances, including twice in one day.
The only noise overnight, the neighbour said, sounded like banging into walls and people chasing each other.
The father, who was absent during much of the woman’s latest pregnancy, was heard calling out the name of one of his children late last night, the neighbour said.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb earlier on Wednesday said deaths of women to domestic violence kept her awake at night.
“Any death in a domestic violence setting breaks my heart, because we focus so much time and energy working with our partners, right across government, non-government, to stop domestic violence,” Webb said.
“But it’s something that keeps me awake at night, frankly, that women are not always safe.”
Waldau echoed her words, urging victims and families to come forward and report abusers.
“There was only the standard conditions on the AVO and it’s very difficult to enforce these things if we don’t get reported,” she said.
“And that’s the biggest thing with domestic violence – that the victims don’t come forward, and that’s not just a problem for NSW Police, it’s a problem for the community.”