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Two days after Vicki Van Aken baked her neighbour cupcakes, he stabbed her to death in front of her young sons.<\/p>\n
Milorad Zaric, 48, had been chasing after his own teenage son, who sought sanctuary at Van Aken\u2019s Bayswater home in Melbourne\u2019s east.<\/p>\n
![\"Mary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/cf7d7aea72a9710dea346252834a50491ca16d1b.jpeg\")
Mary Kadis (left) and Sofia Apostolopoulos (right) leave the Supreme Court of Victoria in T-shirts bearing a photo of Vicki Van Aken.AAP<\/p>\n
A confused Van Aken let the boy inside and then opened the door for Zaric when he would not stop banging on it.<\/p>\n
Zaric said \u201cwelcome home, Vicki\u201d, before pulling a knife from his waistband and stabbing her multiple times in the neck, stomach and shoulder.<\/p>\n
Van Aken\u2019s 16-year-old son saw the attack and tackled Zaric as his mother slumped against the wall.<\/p>\n
He grabbed Zaric in a chokehold, ordering his 12-year-old brother to get out of the house.<\/p>\n
Zaric repeatedly punched the teen and slammed him against a wall, before the boy let go and ran to safety.<\/p>\n
When police arrived on the scene, Zaric told officers he had taken a high dose of ketamine before beginning to growl and call out for Satan.<\/p>\n
Van Aken\u2019s sister Mary Kadis on Tuesday said Zaric\u2019s drug-addled state was no excuse as the killer pleaded guilty in the Victorian Supreme Court to murder on the morning of November 16, 2024.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe choices leading up to that day were yours,\u201d she said on Tuesday. \u201cDid Vicki have a choice that day? No, she didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two days before the murder, Van Aken brought cupcakes to Zaric\u2019s house.<\/p>\n
The killer thanked her over text, describing the treats as \u201camazing\u201d.<\/p>\n
He then started abusing ketamine, cannabis and alcohol, and he lashed out at his teenage son on November 15, pushing the boy down the stairs and stomping on his head.<\/p>\n
Zaric attacked his son again on the morning of the murder, punching the teen and brandishing a knife.<\/p>\n
Kadis said her sister\u2019s death had left her shattered and traumatised.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was my everything \u2013 she was my best friend, my soul mate,\u201d she told the court. \u201cWe have been handed an eternal life sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Aken\u2019s mother Sofia Apostolopoulos said the grief she carried was beyond words.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy daughter was my life,\u201d she said in a statement to the court. \u201cSince her death, I have been trapped in a living nightmare I cannot wake up from.\u201d<\/p>\n
Close friend Maria Pantelios described Van Aken as like family.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer presence had a way of lifting others, even in the darkest moments,\u201d she told the court.<\/p>\n
The plea hearing before Justice Jacinta Forbes continues.<\/p>\n
AAP<\/p>\n
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