Man sentenced to 20 years in prison for murder of Australian Shanae Brooke Edwards in Tbilisi

Georgiam Rafael Mursakulov has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by Tbilisi City Court earlier today for premeditated murder of Australian teacher Shanae Brooke Edwards in Tbilisi in the summer of 2021.  

The prosecution said that Mursakulov inflicted 11 injuries to the woman, five of them in the neck. 

The deceased woman’s family was demanding a life sentence for the offender. 

Armed robbery was named as a motive behind the murder back in July 2021. 

The Georgian Chief Prosecutor Office stated shortly after the incident that Mursakulov, who is a Georgian citizen living in Tbilisi, was charged with armed robbery and intentional homicide which is punishable by 16-20 years in prison or life imprisonment.  

Mursakulov, who was arrested on September 8, 2021, initially denied allegations against him.  

The Prosecutor’s Office said that he attacked Shanae Brooke Edwards to rob her and then strangled her to conceal the crime.  

Shanae Brooke Edwards arrived in Georgia in 2019 and was working as an English-language teacher.  

She went missing on July 30, 2021 while on a hike near Mtatsminda park in central Tbilisiand was found dead on the next day.