Father pleads guilty to gunning down his daughter and her new husband in Melbourne
A father has admitted to gunning down his daughter and her husband after their one-year anniversary in a horrific crime in Melbourne.
An unemployed dad has admitted gunning down his own daughter and her new husband outside their Melbourne home.
Osman Shaptafaj pleaded guilty to two charges of murder in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday.
The 56-year-old admitted fatally shooting his daughter Lindita and her husband Veton Musai on December 31, 2019.
“I plead guilty,” Shaptafaj said during the brief hearing.
Ms Musai, 25, died at the scene and her 29-year-old husband died in hospital the next day.
The newlyweds were shot as they entered their Yarraville home, in the city’s inner west, after returning from a holiday celebrating their first wedding anniversary.
The gunman, who was estranged from his daughter, was himself rushed to hospital for gunshot wounds before he was charged with two counts of murder.
Following the death of the newlyweds, Mr Musai’s brother Drilon posted an emotional tribute on Facebook.
“To everyone out there. Please remember Veton and Lindita for who they were, their love, their passion and their otherworldly presence, because to remember them for what happened is an injustice to love itself,” he wrote.
“Veton and Lindita, we will always love you, you bought two family‘s together who will now always be one because of you.”
The guilty plea comes after Shaptafaj dropped his lawyers last week in a surprise move.
His new lawyer Sandra Gaunt said on Tuesday she had no issues with her client being arraigned for the murder and agreed the pre-sentence hearing should go ahead as planned.
She had sent an email to his previous legal team at 1.48am on February 7 telling them she was now acting for the Altona man.
It is unclear what the reason for the surprise change was.
The unemployed man from Altona will next face court in May.
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