By Hannah Kennelly and Lachlan Abbott
A man stabbed to death in Melbourne’s north-west has been remembered as “the clown of the party” who always looked out for his siblings.
Tony Di Falco, 61, died outside his Hillside home about 7am on Friday in what police said was an act of family violence. Police later shot Di Falco’s 32-year-old stepson, leaving him with critical injuries.
Tony Di Falco, the 61-year-old victim of a stabbing in Hillside on Friday.
Homicide squad Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said first responders tried to revive Di Falco, who was found critically injured on his front lawn, and then heard a woman scream inside his Chris Court house.
Officers went to investigate and were confronted by a man aged in his 30s – a stepson of the deceased, police said – who was armed with a knife.
A shot was fired, Thomas said, before police retreated out the front door while a 27-year-old woman inside – who was heavily pregnant – went out the backdoor.
Despite attempts to negotiate with the armed man, Thomas said he ran outside, stabbed a police car tyre and “advanced on one of our members”. Police shot the man in the lower body and took him into custody.
Di Falco was the second-born male in a tight-knit Italian family of five siblings from North Sunshine, his sister Laura Di Vito said.
“We’ve grown up with Tony only ever knowing him as the clown of the party,” she told The Age.
“He was one of those guys who was always making fun or a joke [and] everybody laughs. He was quick off the mark. But growing up, he was always taking a leader role looking out for his siblings.”
A man in his 30s is in custody following a fatal stabbing in Hillside on Friday morningCredit: AAPIMAGE
Detective Inspector Thomas said the stepson – who was known to police – was not living at the Hillside property and “showed up unannounced” on Friday morning.
“We believe all parties were known to each other, and we are treating this as a family violence incident,” he said.
Thomas said he had seen the officers’ body-cam footage and it “appeared [they] have done everything they could” to defuse the situation.
Di Falco’s 27-year-old pregnant daughter was taken to hospital for observation, police said. On Friday afternoon, the man who police allege confronted officers was in a critical but stable condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Homicide squad detectives will examine the 61-year-old man’s death, while the armed crime squad will investigate the confrontation with the stepson with oversight by Victoria Police’s Professional Standards Command, as per protocol when a police firearm is discharged.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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