It was a tragic and gruesome death that made headlines six years ago. A woman’s body found left to rot in a Melbourne apartment for eight months. Police charged a man with murdering Sarah Gatt, but prosecutors have now decided to drop the case. Ms Gatt’s devastated parents say it is impossible to get closure.
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00:00The old photos of Sarah Gatt are filled with happy memories of the past, but the newspaper
00:08clippings are a difficult reminder of recent times.
00:11You don't ever get closure when someone passes, but you learn to move on.
00:18And I think the way that she was killed and how her body was left, that is what really
00:28gets me.
00:29Police found Sarah's body in the bathtub of this Kensington apartment in January 2018.
00:35She had been dead for eight months.
00:37Drug addicts and rough sleepers in the area saw Sarah's body, but didn't come forward.
00:43But to think someone is upstairs decaying and you're still downstairs having a drink.
00:54Police charged Sarah's on and off boyfriend, Andrew Baker, with murder.
00:57Mr Baker pleaded not guilty and faced two month-long trials in Victoria's Supreme Court.
01:03On both occasions, a jury couldn't decide if he was guilty.
01:07Prosecutors now say they won't try for a third time and have dropped the case.
01:13Sarah's parents are bitterly disappointed by the decision.
01:15Well, I thought something would be happening again, but to me, the one for Sarah, to me,
01:24I don't think they were good enough.
01:26Mr Baker is now a free man after four years in custody, and it's unlikely anyone will
01:31ever be held responsible for the 39-year-old's death.
01:35In a statement, the Office of Public Prosecution said the charge was discontinued because the
01:39case no longer carried reasonable prospects of success.
01:43The problem for prosecutors was they couldn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Baker
01:48killed Sarah Gatt, and that was partially because the decomposition of the body was
01:52so bad, a cause of death couldn't be determined.
01:57As a teenager, Sarah dreamed of becoming a model, but drugs and addiction sent her down
02:02a destructive path which wrecked the rest of her life.
02:05In her better times, she used to give you a big cuddle and say I love you.
02:10Sarah Gatt's parents believe their daughter has been forgotten by society, and now by
02:15the legal system.