By Simone Fox Koob
An elderly woman who came to Australia from Hungary as a young girl has been remembered as caring, opinionated and open-minded by her friends after she was found dead in her home in Melbourne’s south-east.
Judy Bednar, 78, was discovered by police conducting a welfare check at her property on Drinan Road, Chelsea about 10.30am on Saturday.
Her 53-year-old son, Thomas Bednar, also known as Tommy, was arrested near his home in relation to the death on Monday morning and was charged with murder on Monday evening.
Dennis Parsons said he met Ms Bednar through the Melbourne PC user group, which she had been a member of for almost 25 years.
“She was very friendly, very personable and a very caring person,” he said.
Ms Bednar came to Australia with her family, who were Jewish, from Hungary after Soviet forces crushed the Hungarian uprising in 1956.
“She did enjoy talking about her time in Hungary, when she came here, and the stories from her relatives and that sort of thing,” said Mr Parsons.
“When they came to Australia they were in Sydney and then moved to Melbourne and lived in St Kilda for many years, then she moved to Chelsea.”
He said many members of the club had spoken fondly of Ms Bednar and were shocked to hear of her death.
Henry Mydlarz also met Ms Bednar through the PC group, but said he hadn’t seen her for many years. She would always speak up about things she felt strongly about, he said.
“She was extremely outspoken on everything ... I think whatever she thought was wrong, she felt obliged to speak up on it,” he said.
“She came from Hungary, her parents went through the Holocaust, she used to tell us about it. She mentioned the Hungarian uprising and I think they left Hungary after that.”
Detectives from the homicide squad are also investigating the unrelated death of another woman in South Yarra.
Police found the 63-year-old woman’s body inside the stairwell of an apartment block on Surrey Road in South Yarra around 9pm on Saturday.
A 41-year-old South Yarra man was arrested at the apartment complex in relation to the death on Sunday and was assisting investigators. He was released on Sunday night, pending further inquiries.
Police say they are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.
Residents told Nine News they heard screams coming from the floor where the woman was found.
“She had a lot of blood around her head and blood around her arm and hand area,” witness Paula Reid told Nine.
Investigators are appealing for anyone with information on either incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or log onto www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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