7-Eleven Caulfield bashing: Sarah Franklin convicted of hot coffee attack on Sarah Murphy

A woman has been jailed after she threw hot coffee at and bashed another woman for making anti-Semitic remarks, who later died in hospital.

Sarah Murphy, 51, and Sarah Franklin clashed in a two-minute attack near the coffee stand of a 7-Eleven service station in Caulfield in Melbourne’s south-west two years ago.

The couple both entered the store just after 10 on 8 February 2022.

Witnesses later reported hearing Mrs Murphy make racist remarks about Jews and throw a sugar packet at Franklin, who responded by throwing a full cup of coffee at her.

Franklin then attacked Mrs Murphy, with the pair toppling to the ground as Mrs Murphy bit her assailant.

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Doyne Caspersz (pictured) and his wife Marlene were found dead in their home

In one recording, Mrs. Murphy can be heard shouting; “Leave me alone, help, help me … I can’t breathe.”

Franklin replied, ‘Are you calm now?’, as she had her in a headlock.

After Mrs. Murphy, who was asthmatic and suffered from mental illness, fell unconscious, Franklin left the store.

Mrs Murphy had stopped breathing but was revived by paramedics before being taken to The Alfred hospital.

She suffered a massive stroke and died six days later.

Franklin was initially charged with manslaughter, but this was dropped after forensic experts were unable to identify Ms Murphy’s cause of death.

Prosecutors accepted she had acted in self-defence until the moment she held Ms Murphy in a headlock after she made it clear she could not breathe.

Earlier, a court was told that Mrs Murphy’s death could have been caused by a number of factors, including medical conditions and drug toxicity.

Franklin, 53, appeared in Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to a common charge of assault late last year.

The court was told she had written a letter saying she was ‘deeply sorry’ for the assault.

She was sentenced to four months in prison by Judge Stephen Lee.

Just before she was remanded in custody, her lawyer Greer Boe said they intended to appeal the sentence to a higher court.

An hour later, Franklin was granted bail ahead of his June 5 appeal.

Sarah Franklin (pictured) wrote a letter saying she was ‘deeply sorry’ for the assault