Arabic version: سجن رجل بتهمة قتل جارته في بايزووتر

According to ABC News, Milorad Zaric, 48, has been sentenced to 21 years and five months in prison for the November 2024 murder of his Bayswater neighbour, Vicki Apostolopoulos. The Victorian Supreme Court set a non-parole period of 14 years and six months.

Justice Jacinta Forbes said Zaric’s actions took a life and irrevocably changed many others. She considered 24 victim impact statements from Ms Apostolopoulos’s family, friends, neighbours and colleagues, saying they reflected the breadth of love she brought and the loss caused by her death.

Zaric fatally stabbed Ms Apostolopoulos after his teenage son sought refuge at her home following an assault by his father. The court heard Zaric had abused ketamine, cannabis and alcohol the day before the attack and was experiencing ketamine-induced psychosis. Justice Forbes also considered his remorse, previous good character and early guilty pleas in imposing a sentence below the standard 25 years.

Ms Apostolopoulos’s family wept in court. Outside, her sister Mary Kadis called the sentence “disgraceful and beyond acceptable”, saying the family would live with the loss for the rest of their lives. Her son Riley Van Aken said the sentence was “horrific” and described the continuing impact of his mother’s death.

Two days before the killing, Zaric had thanked Ms Apostolopoulos by text for cupcakes she had baked and brought to his home. Her mother, Sofia Apostolopoulos, said she now lived for her grandchildren after losing her daughter.