Murder accused Zoran Pandilovski’s court case to be fast-tracked

There will be an unusual step in the case of a man accused of murdering his wife before allegedly ploughing his car directly into another vehicle.

Elaine Pandilovski was found dead in her Mill Park home in July. Her husband Zoran Pandilovski is accused of murder.

The court case for a man accused of killing his wife before crashing his car into another vehicle, allegedly risking the lives of two others, will be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court.

Zoran Pandilovski pleaded not guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday to three charges.

He is facing one count of murder and two counts of reckless conduct placing a person in danger of death.

Police allege the 45-year-old killed Elaine Pandilovski on July 14, 2020, at their Mill Park home in Melbourne’s northeast.

He then got in his car and drove the vehicle “directly” into another vehicle at Mount Cottrell, about 45 minutes away, police allege.

Elaine Pandilovski with her estranged husband Zoran Pandilovski, who has been arrested in connection to her death.

Two people were hospitalised in the crash.

Mr Pandilovski sat hunched over in a grey jacket and checked shirt on Wednesday, appearing in court via video link from the Metropolitan Remand Centre at Ravenhall.

He appeared significantly thinner than the man captured beaming in family photos shared on social media.

His lawyer Elizabeth McKinnon told the court that Mr Pandilovski had been living with his mother and brother at the time of the alleged murder.

The court heard his case would not go through a committal proceeding but would instead be fast-tracked to Victoria’s highest court.

It will next appear in the Supreme Court on January 12.