Ho-rrific Court Testimony Reveals Melbourne Mother of Two Was Fa-tally Sta-bbed at Her Doorstep by Neighbor Allegedly High on Ke-tamine
On November 14, 2024, Vicky Apostolopoulos baked cupcakes for her next-door neighbour Milorad “Mick” Zaric.
That night, he texted her, describing the baked goods as “amazing”.
Two days later, Zaric stabbed Ms Apostolopoulos to death at her front door in a drug-fuelled rage.
His lawyers described his actions as completely out of character, saying he was “not himself” while under the influence of ketamine. They said he took the drug, thinking it would help with his low mood.
Details of the shocking murder were aired in Victoria’s Supreme Court today, as the victim’s supporters paid tribute to a loving, devoted mother with a heart of gold.
“She was one in a million,”
her heartbroken sister Mary Kadis said.
The court heard Zaric had lived next door to Ms Apostolopoulos for two decades in Bayswater, in Melbourne’s outer east.
He was a regular cannabis user but had taken ketamine for the first time in the days leading up to the killing on the morning of November 16, 2024.
Prosecutor Erin Ramsay said Zaric’s son and girlfriend had become concerned by Zaric’s strange behaviour after taking ketamine.
She said Zaric pushed his son down the stairs, killed a pet turtle and smashed a television.
Later, once Zaric’s girlfriend and son thought he had calmed down, Zaric tried to attack the boy with a knife, the court heard.
Ms Ramsay said Zaric’s son fled to Ms Apostolopoulos’s home.
Prosecutors said Milorad “Mick” Zaric’s son and girlfriend had become concerned by his strange behaviour after taking ketamine. (ABC News: Anita Lester)
The prosecutor said Ms Apostolopoulos’s son witnessed her opening the door to Zaric.
He said, “Welcome home, Vicky”, and then repeatedly stabbed her, the court heard.
Ms Apostolopoulos’s son fought off Zaric and put him in a headlock, enabling his younger brother to flee.
When Zaric was arrested, he told police: “I’ve had a bunch of ket[amine].”
“Where’s the knife?” an officer asked.
“In her neck,” he replied.
Zaric later said he had been “microdosing” on ketamine and snorting the drug every 40 minutes.
“It was like I was possessed or something,”
he said.
Today, Zaric sat expressionless in the court dock, surrounded by more than 50 of Ms Apostolopoulos’s loved ones in the public gallery.
A photo of Ms Apostolopoulos, also known as Vicky Van Aken, was displayed in the courtroom as victim impact statements were read out. Many described how the murder had brought on heartbreak, shock, anger and a profound sense of loss.
