Notorious ‘high-risk’ violent offender Nikola Novakovich freed from jail on supervision order
Nikola Novakovich, who was acquitted of an Outback schoolgirl murder despite a judge finding he had “some involvement in the death”, has been freed from jail under supervision.
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The man acquitted by a judge of murdering Coober Pedy schoolgirl Karen Williams has been released from prison on an extended supervision order – just weeks after being locked up for breaching a similar order.
Nikola Novakovich had been serving a sentence for the brutal bashing and choking of his former partner that expired in September.
In October, he was released from prison on an interim supervision order while psychiatric reports were completed, but breached that order last month and was returned to prison.
The Supreme Court last week ordered that Novakovich be re-released on the extended supervision order – despite a report by the state’s top forensic psychologists finding he has a “high risk’’ of reoffending.
In 2016, when Novakovich stood trial for murder, Justice Tim Stanley found him not guilty of murder and manslaughter.
Justice Stanley said he was satisfied that Novakovich and another man “had some involvement in the death of Karen Williams and the disposal of her body’’ in 1990, but was unable to be satisfied he killed her “let alone that he did so with the specific intent of killing her or inflicting grievous bodily harm”.
Novakovich remains the focus of police attention in the ongoing Major Crime investigation but cannot be retried under double jeopardy laws unless new evidence is uncovered.
In 2017, the State Government posted a $1 million reward for information on the murder of the 16-year-old – including information on the location of her remains.
Novakovich, 48, must abide by almost two dozen conditions for two years under the extended supervision order or he will be returned to prison.
They include a ban on him entering Mt Gambier and travelling north of Port Wakefield, abstaining from alcohol and drugs and undergoing drug and domestic violence counselling as required.
Until recently, Novakovich had been serving a sentence over an incident at Millicent in November 2017 when he was living in a campervan with his then partner. In July 2018, he was sentenced to 22 months in prison with a non-parole period of 14 months.
His trial heard while high on methamphetamines he inflicted a “sustained and vicious attack’’ on his partner which started when he kicked her in the back of the head and told her to “clean up the bus and stop being a fat, lazy c---’’.
During the prolonged assault he grabbed her hair and punched her in the face before putting her in a chokehold until she lost consciousness. He also used a pair of scissors to scratch her chest and a whipper snipper as a weapon to threaten her.
In a report prepared in November, forensic psychiatrist Dr Craig Raeside states Novakovich remains “a high risk’’ for reoffending, particularly when using drugs.
He said various assessments have found Novakovich to be at moderate risk of general offending and at high risk of violent offending, with his risk increasing over time.
“He has a tendency to externalise blame on his circumstances rather than accept responsibility himself and in recent treatments has only shown minimal progress in many areas,’’ the report found.
Dr Raeside said Novakovich’s past history of violence is “clearly predictive of future violence and I believe that he remains at high risk of future violence’’.
“While things might go well when circumstances are favourable for him and he is experiencing relatively less stress, he remains at significant risk of resuming illicit drug use when under stress or adverse circumstances and is likely to repeat past behaviours in terms of aggression and violence.”
Originally published as Notorious ‘high-risk’ violent offender Nikola Novakovich freed from jail on supervision order