A Melbourne woman has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her 85-year-old neighbour, dumping her body in a river and stealing cash and valuables from her home.
Milena Bogojevska, 51, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of West Footscray resident Lolene Whitehand.
Whitehand was last seen walking into Bogojevska’s home on Glamis Road.
Prosecutors allege she was assaulted inside the property, gagged with a towel and wrapped in plastic before her body was dumped in the Maribyrnong River the following day.
After Whitehand’s death, Bogojevska burgled her neighbour’s home, stealing cash, wallets and jewellery, and adding the elderly woman’s debit card onto her own phone.
She used the stolen cash to buy lottery tickets and vouchers, spent $3,897 using Whitehand’s debit card on online purchases including multiple pairs of shoes and iPads, and paid off a $30 cigarette debt.
Bogojevska later joined neighbours in the search for the elderly woman on July 14. When asked if she had seen Whitehand, she claimed she had not seen her for seven days.
According to court proceedings, she used a laundromat in an attempt to wash evidence, but investigators later found Whitehand’s blood in Bogojevska’s car.
When Bogojevska was arrested on July 16 she described Whitehand as “a really nice lady” and told detectives she was not a killer.
Bogojevska remained expressionless in court as details of the offending and victim impact statements were read aloud.
She only became emotional when defence barrister Amy Brennan spoke about her difficult upbringing, abuse by a former partner and her teenage son, whom she has been unable to see in person while in custody.
The boy was at the home at the time of the manslaughter, but police said he had no knowledge of, or involvement in Whitehand’s death.
Brennan acknowledged her client had shown no remorse, but argued imprisonment would be more difficult because Bogojevska has an autoimmune condition that led to renal failure.
Crown prosecutor Erin Ramsay accepted custody would be more burdensome but argued that it was still a very serious example of manslaughter.
Ramsay said Bogojevska’s actions were callous and it was clear Whitehand was a vulnerable woman but because Bogojevska pleaded guilty to manslaughter, prosecutors could not allege she intended to kill her.
The guilty plea has left neighbours struggling to come to terms with Whitehand’s death.
“It shouldn’t be manslaughter, it should be murder. It wasn’t an accident,” neighbour Kirraly Shumann said.
Whitehand’s son, Gary O’Brian, prepared a victim impact statement in which he wrote: “I have trouble sleeping because I keep picturing my mother in the river.”
However, he died two days ago and was unable to deliver the statement in court.
Whitehand’s Neighbours attended the hearing in his place.
“We think about her every day,” Shumann said.
Images: 7News
