Shock Twist: K-i-llers Who Took the Lives of a Beloved Granny and Kind Neighbour Given “Hope for Freedom”
If Victorians were disappointed with the sentencing of Lolene Whitehand, they may have missed this one.
In Melbourne this week the news cycle has well and truly been consumed by the Sydney Swans player saga.
It’s a story that has made national headlines, day after day. But in the shadows of the Supreme Court of Victoria, ordinary people have cried tears largely ignored over matters that should not be.
On Thursday, Milena Bogojevska, 51, appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria where she was sentenced to just eight years behind bars with a non-parole period of six years for killing Ms Whitehand. She’ll likely walk in four.
The remorseless killer had bashed and stuffed a sock down the throat of the beloved 85-year-old, dumped her body in the river, and embarked on a wild shopping spree.
At the end of the hearing, Ms Whitehand’s daughter told her mum’s killer, ‘may you rot in hell.’
‘You too,’ she replied.
The fact Bogojevska had landed a plea deal allowing her to plead guilty to manslaughter had already angered those that loved Ms Whitehand.
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Mother-of-two Vicky Apostolopoulos was brutally murdered in front of her own children by a neighbour she had made cupcakes for
Loved ones felt the sentence was downright insulting.
At the end of the hearing, Ms Whitehand’s daughter was seen bawling her eyes out as she made her way out of the court.
A day earlier, the very same judge, Justice Jacinta Forbes, made another big call.
On Wednesday, Milorad Zaric, 48, was sentenced by Justice Forbes to 21 years and five months in jail with and a non-parole period of just 14 years and six months.
With time served, he could be out in a little more than 12.
The evil carpenter stabbed mother-of-two Vicky Apostolopoulos, 51, multiple times in her Bayswater home, in Melbourne’s east, on November 16, 2024.
Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsay told Justice Forbes that Ms Apostolopoulos had shown nothing but neighbourly warmth toward Zaric, who lived next door for more than 20 years.
Just two days before her death, she messaged him and dropped off homemade cupcakes for him and his family.
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Lolene Whitehand was loved by all that knew her. Her killer will likely walk from jail in four years
He replied saying they were ‘good’.
The court heard Zaric had been spiralling for days on ketamine – snorting the drug every 40 minutes and washing it down with alcohol and cannabis.
‘There is a war coming,’ Zaric told his family before going on a mindless rampage that saw him stab Ms Apostolopoulos in the stomach, neck and shoulder in front of her own children.
In a familiar spiel rolled out by Supreme Court judges before breaking the hearts of victims, Justice Forbes delivered a well worn line.
‘The term of imprisonment and non-parole period to be imposed cannot reflect the measure of the loss of life of Ms (Apostolopoulos), who was clearly so vibrant, generous and well-loved,’ she said.
Outside court, her sister Mary Kadis declared the justice system had failed her sister, family and every single person who loved her, labelling the sentence ‘disgraceful and beyond acceptable’.
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Mary Kadis, sister of Vicky Apostolopoulos, speaks to media outside the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne on Wednesday
‘It is impossible to understand how a brutal murder can result in a sentence that gives the murderer hope for freedom, while the victim’s family is left suffering a lifetime of loss,’ she tearfully told reporters.
‘We will never get paroled from this sentence. We will never get to see Vicki again, never hear her voice, another hug, or share another moment with her.
‘He has hope for freedom … my nephews don’t have a mother. I don’t have a sister. My mother doesn’t have a daughter.’
Ms Apostolopoulos’s son, Riley Van Aken, slammed the ‘horrific’ sentence handed to his mum’s killer.
Aged just 16 at the time, it had been Riley who heroically tackled Zaric to protect his younger brother, aged just 12, who was hiding in a closet.
During the struggle, Zaric punched him in the jaw.
The court heard the teen kept Zaric in a chokehold until his little brother escaped, then fled the house and called triple zero.
‘I think she might be dead,’ he told the operator.
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Milorad Zaric stabbed Vicky Apostolopoulos to death for no good reason
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Milena Bogojevska, 51, appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria where she was sentenced to just eight years behind bars. She’ll likely walk free in four
Outside court, he bravely addressed reporters for the first time.
‘There’s nothing I do without having mum on my mind. There’s nothing I can do, whether it be school or other achievements, where I feel any sort of successfulness from it as I’m not able to share it with mum anymore,’ he said.
‘He should have gotten life imprisonment without parole.’
Fed-up Australians vented their anger when Daily Mail published its story on Ms Whitehand’s sentence the following day.
‘Pathetic sentence,’ one reader commented.
‘Disgusting sentence,’ another read.
And on and on they went.
Next week different families will rage and cry on the steps of the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Sometimes their pain will make front page news. Often it won’t.
