Neighbour sentenced to 21 years for 2024 murder after drug-fueled stabbing
Milorad Zaric received a 21-year-plus prison term for killing his Bayswater neighbour Vicki Apostolopoulos in a ketamine-induced attack.
In a packed Victorian Supreme Court, Milorad Zaric, 48, was sentenced to 21 years and five months for the fatal stabbing of his neighbour Vicki Apostolopoulos in Bayswater, Melbourne, in November 2024. The attack unfolded after Zaric, under the influence of ketamine, cannabis and alcohol, assaulted his own son, who then sought refuge at Apostoloulos’s house. When Zaric forced his way in, he uttered a chilling greeting before plunging a knife into her neck, stomach and shoulder.
Apostoloulos’s son restrained Zaric, but the father continued to assault the teen before police arrived. Justice Jacinta Forbes considered Zaric’s drug-induced psychosis, sincere remorse, prior good character and early guilty plea when reducing the sentence from the standard 25 years, also setting a non-parole period of 14 years and six months. The courtroom heard 24 victim impact statements, reflecting the deep loss felt by family, friends and neighbours.
Why it matters
The case highlights how drug-induced violence can lead to severe legal consequences and community trauma.
In this story
