Guy Staines
Australian man presumed dead in 2017 after traveling to Syria or Iraq
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Life in Australia, radicalization and death in the Middle East
Staines was raised in Narrabi, in the North West Slopes area of New South Wales. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison for shooting Andrew Abbott, the son of his former boss, near Moree.[1] After an escape attempt, Staines was moved to maximum security level.[2]
It was while he was in prison that Staines converted to Islam.[3] He is believed to have embraced Islamic extremism while serving his sentence in the supermax Goulburn Correctional Centre. Bassam Hamzy, one of the Brothers for Life, converted him.[1] Soon after Staines converted, he began an illicit relationship with a psychologist at the prison, and persuaded her to convert to Islam also. In 2006, this was discovered and the psychologist was forced to resign from her job. She and Staines got married over the phone, on a three-way line between Staines, the bride and an imam who performed the nikah ceremony.[4] The nikah is recognized by the Muslim community, but is not considered a legal marriage under New South Wales law.[4]
Staines subsequently married Rose Karroum. Rose's sister was Amira Karroum, who traveled to Syria to join her jihadist husband; both were killed in January 2014, a few weeks after her arrival.[1]
In 2015, less than two years after he was released from prison,[5] Staines left Sydney. He was believed to be en route to Syria or Iraq. In July 2016, his family in Australia said they had not heard from Staines in over a year. His mother said she "hadn't spoken to my son for quite some time. No one has."[1]
On May 8, 2017, it was reported that Staines, who was 43 or 44, was "believed to been killed" in a drone strike "in the past two weeks."[2] His death was never announced as confirmed.
In July 2023, the Daily Telegraph reported that Rose Karroum, whom they described as Staines's "widow", was "dating" a man whom they called an "Islamic State sympathizer." That month, the man pleaded guilty to breaching a terror supervision order.[6]