Christos Panagakos ruled by coroner to have accidentally killed ex-girlfriend Ivona Jovanovic

A coroner has delivered a bombshell ruling that a man accidently killed his former girlfriend when a handgun inside a bag he was carrying went off when he tripped at the Gold Coast home.

Christos Panagakos’ initial manslaughter charge was later discontinued.

A coroner has found Christos Panagakos accidentally killed his former girlfriend Ivona Jovanovic when a handgun inside a bag he was carrying went off when he tripped on a staircase.

Ms Jovanovic, 27, died hours later in Gold Coast University Hospital from a single gunshot wound to the chest which caused blood to flood her thoracic cavity making her heart and lungs dysfunctional.

On Thursday Coroner Donald MacKenzie, who oversaw an inquest into the death, found the most reliable account of the evening of September 8, 2019 came from witness Daine Walker who was at Panagakos’ Highland Park home when Ms Jovanovic was shot.

Walker, who was in jail in NSW when he spoke to police, said he was outside when he heard “a thud and then a bang like a gun going off”.

“Christos was standing at the top of the stairs, I remember him saying ‘I tripped’ and ‘it just went off,’ Walker said in a police statement.

“(Panagakos said) ‘What did I do? F**k I didn’t mean it, I was coming up the stairs’.

“I said something like ‘brother, relax just call the ambulance’.”

Ivona Jovanovic died in the Gold Coast University Hospital hours after the incident. Picture: Instagram of Ivona Jovanovic

Walker said Ms Jovanovic, who was planning on heading out to dinner with Panagakos and his friends that night, was lying on the floor gasping.

When Panagakos’ mother Michelle went to call an ambulance Mr Walker said her son said something like “no don’t call yet, wait”.

Panagakos was charged with manslaughter, later discontinued, and at the committal hearing Mr Walker said he was not able to remember either the fatal evening or the making of his statement to police due to his meth and other drugs intoxication on both occasions.

“Clearly he had been given sound legal advice on how to avoid his statement being admissible against Mr Panagakos in a criminal trial,” Mr MacKenzie said in his findings.

“Curiously the statement does not establish criminal negligence by Mr Panagakos. There is no direct evidence that Mr Panagakos knew that the firearm was loaded or indeed in the bag and a number of individuals with serious criminal antecedents were in a position to have placed the firearm in the bag without Mr Panagakos’ knowledge.”

Mr MacKenzie said Panagakos’ own version of events could “easily be rejected”. He initially maintained that as a coincidence with the firearm discharging he was placing a jumper over his head.

“This is inconsistent with his ability to recall little at the inquest due to methylamphetamine intoxication,” Mr MacKenzie said.

The coroner said Panagakos’ own version of events could “easily be rejected”.

Mr MacKenzie said while he had concluded Panagakos caused Ms Jovanovic’s death, “on the evidence before me this was essentially an accident”.

“In terms of the Criminal Code his criminal negligence could not be established to warrant a prosecution for involuntary manslaughter,” he said.

“Clearly many of the witnesses at this inquest were not telling the truth … should further relevant information become available there will always be an opportunity to re-open this inquest.”

Mr MacKenzie was highly critical of the evidence given by Panagakos’ mother Michelle Panagakos.

“One can understand her motive in trying to protect her son. However her attempt initially to suggest that the deceased herself brought the handgun in a handbag … and her placing her son Christos at the bottom of the staircase at the time of the firearm discharge was in my view reprehensible. She was not a witness of credit,” he said.

Ivona Jovanovic. Picture: Instagram @ivonaajovanovic

Mr MacKenzie said Ms Jovanovic was a ‘happy, kind and caring person”.

“Her death has had a devastating and lasting impact on her family and those close to her.

The lack of clarity about how she died since can only have aggravated that grief”.

Panagakos denied at the inquest being in charge of the handgun that accidentally discharged killing Ms Jovanovic.

Originally published as Christos Panagakos ruled by coroner to have accidentally killed ex-girlfriend Ivona Jovanovic