Tributes flow for dad Tony Di Falco allegedly stabbed to death by stepson in his Hillside home

A father stabbed to death before his step son was shot by police in an alleged act of family violence has been remembered as a man who “made everybody laugh”.

A father stabbed to death before his step son was shot by police in an alleged act of family violence has been remembered as a man who “made everybody laugh”.

Tony Di Falco was stabbed to death at his Chris Ct home in Hillside, in Melbourne’s northwest about 6.50am on Friday.

Police found the 61-year-old dead on his front lawn as they attempted to perform CPR on him.

Those officers then heard a woman scream inside his home where they rushed to render any further assistance.

They were allegedly met with a 32-year-old man who was armed with a knife.

Tony Di Falco was allegedly stabbed to death at his Chris Ct home in Hillside, in Melbourne’s northwest about 6.50am on Friday.

Police say the alleged offender, who is Mr Di Falco’s step son, attempted to attack the officers with the knife before at least one shot was fired by police inside the home.

The members exited the home before the alleged offender again launched another attack toward police, before they fired “several shots” at his lower body in the street.

Police had attempted to negotiate with the man and urged him to drop his weapon but he kept advancing toward the members, forcing them to take action.

The alleged offender, who resides in Preston and lives with a psychiatric disorder, was taken into custody after he was shot.

The step son was taken into custody after being shot by police. Picture: Joel Carrett

Mr Di Falco’s stepdaughter witness the stabbing and called police. Picture: Joel Carrett

Mr Di Falco’s step daughter, who is heavily pregnant, dialled triple-0 and witnessed the horrific stabbing attack before fleeing through the back door of the home.

She did not suffer any physical injuries but was taken to hospital as a precaution.

Mr Di Falco’s distraught sister, Laura Di Vito, said their huge Italian family was struggling to come to terms with Friday’s alleged attack.

She said her brother, who is one of five siblings, was always making his family laugh at their many gatherings.

“As a brother, he was the clown of the family, he always had jokes, made everybody laugh,” she said on Friday morning.

“(We’ll miss) his character, his charisma, he brought the family together because he had so much character, full of jokes, we are going to miss that.

“It’s a phone call we did not expect this morning.”

Mr Di Falco’s younger brother, Nick, said Tony was robbed of the opportunity to live out his dream of owning a home on the coast.

He said Tony was a retired banker and train conductor but had found a new hobby in investing.

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas. Picture: Diego Fedele

Mr D Falco had just overcome cancer and was planning to buy a home on the coast. Picture: Diego Fedele

“He just fought cancer, he was going to start a new life near Golden Beach (but) he never got a chance,” he said.

“Tony always thought about his family, he had a big heart.

“He was a nice bloke, he was a nice brother, he was a nice father. He was a hard worker, he wasn’t shy of putting in extra hours.”

Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said it was a “distressing” family violence incident that the family and emergency services were confronted with.

He said the alleged offender was previously known to police.

“It appears, from what we can tell at this point, that our offender, who was residing at another address, he was not living here, has turned up there this morning unexpectedly,” he said on Friday afternoon.

Inspector Dean Thomas said police “acted appropriately”. Picture: Joel Carrett

“It’s a terrible situation for the family, it’s very confronting for our members. It’s a very distressing situation for all involved.”

He said the members who shot the alleged offender several times acted appropriately.

“This offender was very, very capable of causing serious injury to anybody,” he added.

“From what I can see from the body-worn cameras, they’ve acted bravely and done everything they could to avoid a situation, but unfortunately the offender has continued to advance on them.

“They did everything they could to try and engage him, to talk him down, hopefully negotiate with him, and bring about a peaceful conclusion.”

The alleged offender remained at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Friday afternoon and no charges have been laid.

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