In Melbourne, a man was sentenced to 21 years and five months for the murder of his neighbor
The Supreme Court of the State of Victoria in Australia sentenced 48-year-old Milorad Zarich to 21 years and five months infor the murder of his neighbor, Vicky Apostolopoulos, in Beyswater on the eastern outskirts of Melbourne. The court set a minimum term without eligibility for parole at 14 years and six months, according to ABC News Australia.
The attack took place on November 16, 2024. According to the court, Zarich had used ketamine, cannabis, and alcohol the day before, and that morning he had chased his 15-year-old son. After the man beat the teenager, pushed him down the stairs, and stomped on his head, the boy fled to the neighboring Apostolopoulos residence.
The woman let the teenager into the house and closed the door. When Zarich wouldn’t stop knocking, she opened it. He pulled out a knife and stabbed her in the neck, stomach, and shoulder. The Apostolopoulos’s 16-year-old son tried to stop the attacker by grabbing him in a hold and ordered his 12-year-old brother to leave the house. Zarich beat the older teenager and pinned him against the wall, after which the boy fled to safety.
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Judge Jacinta Forbes stated that Zarich’s actions took Apostolopoulos’s life and irreversibly changed the lives of many people. The court took into account 24 statements regarding the consequences of the crime from the victim’s relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues.
At the same time, the judge took into account the defendant’s diminished mental capacity due to ketamine-induced psychosis, his deep remorse, his prior good character, and his early admission of guilt. This served as the basis for imposing a sentence shorter than the standard 25-year term. Two days before the murder, Zarich sent Apostolopoulos a message thanking her for the cupcakes she had baked and brought to his home.
