Accused killer Zoran Pandilovski fronts court over death of wife Elaine
A man accused of killing his estranged wife allegedly smashed into another car a short time after her death, injuring its occupants. His elderly mother sobbed in court as the details were revealed.
Police & Courts
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An accused wife killer has fronted court, charged with the murder of Elaine Pandilovski in Melbourne’s north.
Tributes continued to flow for the mother and special needs teacher whose body was found beneath her Mill Park home on Tuesday night as friends and strangers rallied to raise funds for her surviving son, Thomas.
Her estranged husband, Zoran Pandilovski, 45, sat stone-faced in the dock of the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday as his elderly mother sobbed in the front row.
Across the courtroom, members of Ms Pandilovski’s family stared the alleged murderer down.
Mr Pandilovski has also been charged with reckless conduct endangering life after a head-on collision at Mount Cottrell shortly after his wife was allegedly slain.
Homicide detectives suspect the crash, which injured two others, was a deliberate act by Mr Pandilovski to hurt or kill himself.
The court heard the victims in the second car had only been released from hospital on Thursday morning.
Mr Pandilovski was charged late on Wednesday night after spending hours under police guard in hospital after the smash.
He appeared in court on Thursday morning with no visible signs of injury.
Alarm over Ms Pandilovski’s welfare was raised after she failed to show up to work at Plenty Parkland Primary School on Tuesday morning.
Her worried family searched her Hakwes Drive home but could not find her despite her car being parked in the garage.
Police later found her body hidden beneath the home.
The court heard Mr Pandilovski suffered from depression and anxiety and required medication for diabetes.
His lawyer argued against the release of his address on charge sheets, saying his parents and brother who still lived at the home would be subjected to “violence” by the public because the alleged murder occurred in the context of domestic violence allegations.
Digital analysis of at least 12 electronic devices, pathology results and forensic testing of more than 20 items at the crime scene would form part of the evidence in the homicide investigation, the prosecutor said.
Mr Pandilovski did not speak throughout the hearing but occasionally glanced at his mother and brother, who held hands and cried as he was lead out of court.
A fundraiser was launched on Thursday for their young son, who has autism.
The matter will return to court in November.
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