The Murder of Maria Korp
On February 9th 2005, in Melbourne, Australia, Maria Korp was reported missing. Joe Korp, her husband, said he last saw his wife that morning at approximately 6:30 a.m. Maria did not show up for work or to pick up her 11-year-old son from school that day. Her car was also missing from the home.
Maria and Joe had married in 1991 and had a son a couple of years later. Maria already had a daughter from a previous marriage. Although the family lived in a nice home and were relatively wealthy, their marriage had some problems. In 2004, Maria confided in her daughter that she thought Joe was having an affair.
Joe had been acting differently, taking more care with his appearance and having to make excuses for his long absences from home. Maria found proof of the affair on the family computer and also found blond hair in his car. Joe was having an affair with Tania Herman who he had met online the year before.
On February 11th, two days after Joe had last seen his wife, police made a public appeal for information and released a description of Maria’s car, a 1996 red Mazda 626.
Police were alerted to a car matching Maria’s at the Shrine of Remembrance on the 13th of February after a security guard became suspicious of the vehicle having been parked there for the past four days. Police opened the boot of the car and found Maria Korp clinging to life. She was severely dehydrated and had head injuries.
Maria was rushed to The Alfred Hospital and placed into a medically induced coma. She had brain injuries due to being starved of oxygen for a long period.
Joe Korp and Tania Herman were arrested on 16th February 2005, charged with attempted murder and intentionally causing serious injury.
Joe and Tania had planned to ‘get rid’ of Maria as they felt she was getting in the way of their relationship. So, on the 9th of February, Joe drove Tania to the home he shared with his wife and kids. Tania hid in the garage of the house before attacking Maria and strangling her with a strap until she was unconscious. She then put her in the boot of the car and drove it to the Shrine of Remembrance.
Tania Herman pleaded guilty to all charges and on 1st July was sentenced to 12 years in prison with a minimum term of 9 years before she could be considered for parole.
Joe Korp pleaded not guilty to all charges and was released on bail. On the 27th of July 2005, he was granted permission to visit Maria in hospital. The day before (26th) the public advocate for Maria Korp announced the feeding tube that was keeping her alive would be removed. This was after medical staff declared her condition was declining and they did not believe she would recover.
On 1st August, Maria’s daughter was awarded the right to cut Joe from her mother’s will so he would not benefit when she died.
Maria Korp passed away at The Alfred Hospital on 5th August 2005, approximately five months after her attempted murder. The funeral was held a week later. Joe was banned from attending by her family and instead held his own private ceremony at home where he invited the media.
Later that night, Joe told his ex-wife and a journalist that he was going to hang himself, so they both called the police. The police approached the garage, where they saw Joe standing on a ladder, supposedly talking on his phone to his solicitor. The police report states that Joe was looking at them through the window when the ladder tipped over and he hung himself. It is unknown if it was intentional at that point or if it was an accident. At the scene, police found photos of Maria and notes proclaiming his innocence. Toxicology reports showed his blood alcohol level to be 0.15.
On the 14th of February 2014, Tania Herman was released on parole after serving just over eight years in prison.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXEp5A5i77U
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4615502/Police-officer-climbed-car-near-dead-woman.html
https://australiantruecrimepodcast.com/tag/maria-korp/
https://www.crikey.com.au/2005/08/05/maria-korp-dies-now-for-murder-charges/