Danielle Lee Birchall: Daughter-in-law accused of murdering partner’s dad Kon Kritikos, 87

An elderly grandfather found with fatal injuries in his home allegedly tried to tell his son his wife was responsible, a court has been told.

Discovered beaten and bloody in the hall of his home, an elderly man allegedly told his son “her, her, her” in Greek, a court has been told.

Kon Kritikos, 87, died in hospital on November 24, 2020, 13 days after he was found alone and critically injured in his home in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg.

His daughter-in-law Danielle Lee Birchall is facing trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court after pleading not guilty to Mr Kritikos’ murder.

On Monday, prosecutor Sarah Thomas outlined the case against Ms Birchall, alleging she knew Mr Kritikos had large amounts of cash and she needed money to pay for a car the next day.

Ms Birchall has pleaded not guilty. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

The court was told Mr Kritikos’ wife was in hospital after a fall, with Ms Birchall and her partner George Kritikos, checking in on the elderly man in the afternoon of November 11.

Ms Thomas said the couple stayed for about 15 minutes before leaving and returned to their Melton home about 2.20pm.

She said CCTV would show Ms Birchall left alone about 2.45pm, later re-attending Ms Kritikos’ home where a neighbour saw her.

“Mum is coming home tomorrow, have just told dad. Thank you for keeping an eye on things,” Ms Birchall texted the neighbour’s wife.

Ms Thomas told the court the neighbours allegedly heard “loud thuds” coming from the property and went over to investigate sometime after 3.40pm.

She said they would give evidence they had a brief exchange with Ms Birchall at the front door.

Kon Kritikos was allegedly murdered by his daughter-in-law. Picture: Supplied.

Prosecutors allege Ms Birchall left the home sometime after 5pm, with her whereabouts unknown until 6.20pm when she returned home.

It’s alleged she disposed of the clothing she had previously been wearing.

The court was told Ms Birchall and George Kritikos visited a friend that evening, returning to Kon’s home about 10.40pm.

In the hallway Mr Kritikos was found with missing teeth, deep lacerations to his head and defensive wounds.

Ms Taylor said George asked what happened, with Mr Kritikos responding, in Greek, that “they were big”.

“He said words to the effect of ‘her, her her’,” she said.

“The prosecution alleges Kon was telling George it was the accused who attacked him.”

The court was told the couple were arrested at the scene, with Ms Birchall found with $6535 in cash she explained as for the purchase of a Holden Barina the next day.

Ms Taylor said it was alleged she knew Mr Kritikos kept cash at his home.

Doctors found Mr Kritikos’ injuries to be “unsurvivable”. Picture: Supplied.

In his response, defence barrister Chris Pearson urged the jury to keep an open mind until they’d heard all of the evidence.

He said his client had been interviewed by police, telling them she had been at Kon’s home three times on November 11 but that she did not cause his injuries.

“She is simply not the person who assaulted Kon, she’s not the person that caused the injuries,” he said.

“This was a man who was savagely beaten by somebody but it wasn’t Danielle – That's the defence position, that’s what this case is about.”

The trial, before Justice Christopher Beale, continues.

Originally published as Danielle Lee Birchall: Daughter-in-law accused of murdering partner’s dad Kon Kritikos, 87