Murder suspect arrested after 12-hour standoff on cliffs

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A merchant wanted for murder has been arrested after a dramatic 12-hour standoff with police on a Blue Mountain cliff.

Ashley Gadi, 33, was arrested around midnight Wednesday after a manhunt was launched over the death of a female teacher.

Daniel Finley Jones, 31, was found with a brutal head injury at his home in Sydney on Sunday afternoon and could not be resuscitated.

After being on the run all day on Tuesday, police cornered Gadi at Fletcher Lookout at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains.

A violent 12-hour standoff ensued as Gadi was precariously perched on a rocky outcrop on the other side of the safety fence.

“A police negotiator was present and had a conversation with the man before he was arrested at around 12:00 am. [on Wednesday]’ said a NSW Police statement.

“The 33-year-old is expected to undergo an evaluation before being taken to Katoomba Police Station where he will be charged with murder.”

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Police have set up Strike Force Einham with detectives from the Nepean Police Regional Command, with support from the State Crime Command Homicide Squad, to investigate the woman’s death.

Earlier, police said they believed Finlay-Jones and the suspect knew each other, found no evidence of a forced break-in, and added they did not believe it was an act of arbitrary violence.

When emergency services called the facility, a woman was found with serious injuries.

Paramedics helped, but she could not be resuscitated.

Police said the woman did not live in the home and was known to a resident who made an emergency call.

According to media reports, the two recently met on a dating app and spent Sunday night together at the Marsden Brewhouse in western Sydney.

Afterwards, they reportedly returned to a friend’s house on Borrowdale Way in Cranebrook.

Finlay Jones was found around 2:30 pm the next day and thought the couple had been sleeping when the owner finally went to check on her.

According to her Facebook page, Finlay-Jones worked as a teacher and student learning support officer for the New South Wales Department of Education.

Her family wants privacy.

daily telegraph Gadi reportedly appeared in NSW courts 14 times in the past five years for crimes against women.

He is currently serving a two-year sentence for stalking and strangling his ex-girlfriend.

A drilling mechanic has also been released on bail for allegedly assaulting another woman and sexually touching her without her consent, the paper said.

He has been subject to five arrest warrants.

After a large-scale search was launched on Tuesday and an arrest warrant was issued, police had asked the public for help.

The heavily tattooed suspect was Caucasian, about 180 cm tall, with a muscular build, blue eyes and bald head.