Perth’s Steven Dean sentenced to 20 years for fatal domestic violence assault

A man who, in a drug-induced psychosis and in front of his two children, repeatedly punched then stabbed his partner for 15 years to death, will spend the next 20 years behind bars.

Steven Dean, 37, attacked partner Emmerich Lasakar, 35, in April 2023 and left her to die on the floor of their Kewdale home while he sped off in his Ford Ranger Raptor, traversing multiple suburbs across Perth at speeds of up to 155km/h , through red lights and stop signs and across a railway track in the path of an oncoming passenger train.

On Friday during his sentencing for the crime that has left motherless two children, now eight and 15 years old, the court also heard how Dean stopped at a Victoria Park service station to buy cigarettes with a $10 note before threatening the attendant with a knife.

Moments later, he crashed his ute on St James Street, staggered from the wreckage and approached a nearby house where he was offered assistance before washing his face. He then took a kitchen knife to the backyard where he attempted to stab himself in the neck.

Police had to taser Dean to arrest him and took him to Royal Perth Hospital with multiple fractures and dislocations from the crash.

During his sentencing the court was told Dean was suffering from a methamphetamine-induced psychosis at the time he attacked his partner, which caused “bizarre and repulsive beliefs” about her, including that she was cheating.

The court heard Dean recorded a video of himself driving at high speeds after the attack, also recording “a psychotic rant” about his partner, whom he had insisted quit his job at a laundry just days before.

Family described Dean as controlling and Lasakar as a devoted mother.

The court was also told how the couple’s then 14-year-old daughter tried to intervene in the attack and protect her mother, who died from 13 stab wounds to her body.