Tragically, Celeste Manno’s promising life was cut short by the year-long stalking and eventual murder at the hands of Luay Sako, a former colleague.
Despite Sako’s recent 36-year prison sentence, Celeste’s mother expresses dissatisfaction with the justice system in an exclusive interview with 60 Minutes.
Meanwhile, enduring American band Matchbox Twenty, led by Rob Thomas, continues to captivate Australian audiences with sold-out arenas and a new album celebrating aging, revealing they are not quite ready to grow up just yet.
This week on 60 Minutes:
FATAL OBSESSION
Celeste Manno was a smart and beautiful young Australian. Five years ago, her future was as bright as her personality. But then a man she’d very briefly worked with became obsessed with her. It was attention Celeste neither wanted nor reciprocated.
That didn’t stop Luay Sako though. For more than a year, the then 35-year-old stalked her, making her life miserable. Celeste tried everything to stop him, without success. In November 2020, he broke into her home in the middle of the night and murdered Celeste, who was then 23, while she was sleeping.
Last week Sako was sentenced to 36 years in prison for his horrendous crime. But it’s a punishment that’s nowhere near satisfactory for Celeste’s mother.
In an exclusive interview with 60 MINUTES and The Age, Aggie Di Mauro tells Dimity Clancey how the criminal justice system let down her daughter, and why Luay Sako must never be released.
Reporter: Dimity Clancey
Producers: Lisa Brown, Sammi Taylor, Simone Fox Koob
BURNING BRIGHT
With the recent Swiftie invasion, Australia may well have gone “cray-cray for Tay-Tay”, but Taylor Swift has not been the only musical act in town. American band Matchbox Twenty, led by the very candid Rob Thomas, has also been here, not-so-quietly going about the business of belting out hits.
And it’s clear from the sold-out arenas they’ve been playing that after 30 years their music still strikes the right note. They are not only burning brightly on stage, there’s also a new album.
It’s meant to celebrate getting older, but as Tara Brown finds out, the boys of Matchbox Twenty are not quite ready to grow up just yet.
Reporter: Tara Brown
Producer: Garry McNab
