Pregnant woman killed and her partner 'decapitated with his head placed on a spike' - as man, 34, charged
Police have charged a homeless man over a double murder in which a pregnant woman was killed and the father-to-be decapitated and his head put on a spike.
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Athena Georgopoulos, 39, was found dead at the Melbourne home alongside her partner Andrew Gunn, 50.
Police were called at around 9.20pm local time on Monday night after a neighbour heard screaming coming from the property.
Armed police rushed to the scene at around 9.55pm.
Police allegedly found Mr Gunn’s mutilated body near the body of Ms Georgopoulos.
A homeless man, Ross Judd, 34, was arrested hours later at Westall Railway station, around four miles from the crime scene.
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He has been charged with two counts of murder.
Ms Georgopoulos was five months pregnant when she died.
Georgopoulos’s mother expressed her sorrow over the death of her daughter, whom she said was due to give birth in four months.
“These last days you were so happy, we dreamed together about our granddaughter who you would bring into this life and suddenly all was extinguished in one night,” she said in a tribute on Facebook translated from Greek.
“Even in our separation, I will never stop loving you and look forward to our reunion.”
Her aunt Patty told the Herald Sun: “She was so looking forward to having a baby, because she was 39 [and] she never thought she could have one.”
Police are still working to establish the accused man's connection to the alleged victims and the alleged motive.
Detectives said they are not seeking anyone else in relation to the killings.
Investigators are examining whether graffiti scrawled outside the property, including the phrases 'U R Gay,' 'Enough is Enough,' 'Betrayal,' and 'Karma' - is linked to the horror inside.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas from Melbourne’s Homicide Squad said police received several calls.
He said: “Police were called at about 9.20pm in relation to a welfare check at the address based on some yelling that was heard from the property.
“A second call was then made that suggested it was perhaps more urgent than the first call and police arrived minutes later, and obviously they found the male and female inside the premises deceased.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed investigators were probing the graffiti.
“Police are aware of graffiti on the property in Mount Waverley where the bodies of two people were located last night.
“Homicide Squad detectives will work to determine if the graffiti is relevant to the murder investigation.”