By Cassandra Morgan
A man has been charged with murder after allegedly stabbing his neighbour to death in front of her children in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
Police were called to a home on Cousin Drive in Bayswater about 11.15am on Saturday after a 51-year-old woman was stabbed inside her home.
Police at the scene in Bayswater on Saturday. Credit: Simon Schluter
She was found dead inside the property. The woman is yet to be formally identified.
Bayswater man Milorad Zaric, 47, who lived next door to the woman, was arrested at a neighbouring property soon after and taken to hospital under police guard.
He was later charged with murder, and fronted Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sunday morning, appearing in the dock with a short grey beard and grey hair, and wearing a white jumpsuit.
The court was told Zaric was withdrawing from drugs and alcohol, and needed to be seen by a custody nurse.
Police investigators in Cousin Drive, Bayswater.Credit: Simon Schluter
Detective Daniel Magee said investigators needed more time than usual to prepare the brief of evidence in the case, as they needed to work through material including drug analysis and police officers’ body-worn camera footage.
A magistrate denied the request and remanded Zaric in custody to face court again on February 14.
Senior Sergeant Chris Ellway said on Saturday the woman and the man were known to each other but were not in a relationship, and it was not a family violence incident.
He said the exact circumstances were still being investigated, but it appeared that the woman was allegedly attacked after answering her door to the man.
Three teenagers were at the home at the time: the woman’s two children and their friend, the 17-year-old son of the alleged killer.
The 17-year-old suffered minor lacerations during the incident and all three children were being looked after at the police station, Ellway said.
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