FINAL VERDICT IN “CALCULATED” NEIGHBOUR KI-LLING: MILENA BOGOJEVSKA SENTENCED—BUT THE MOMENT HER VICTIM’S FAMILY HEARD THE PUNISHMENT WAS HEARTBREAKING
The family and friends of a beloved elderly woman have sobbed as her remorseless and “calculated” killer learned her punishment.
Milena Bogojevska, 51, remained stoic throughout her sentencing in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday as she was handed an eight-year jail term with a non-parole period of six years.
Milena Bogojevska lived only a few doors down from Lolene Whitehand. Nine
She had pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Lolene Whitehand, an 85-year-old who lived two doors down.
Bogojevska suffocated her elderly neighbour by shoving a tea towel into her mouth after the victim was seen walking into the yard of the killer’s Footscray home on July 12, 2024.
Bogojevska and Whitehand had no history of friendship or animosity.Justice Jacinta Forbes described the killer’s conduct after her death as “opportunistic, calculated and self-serving”.
“Your acts are unexplained and inexplicable,” she said.
Lolene Whitehand’s battered body was found in the Maribyrnong River. Nine
“Your continued silence around the surrounding circumstances compounds the grief of those around.”
A bag was tied over Whitehand’s head before the killer was seen on security footage dumping her body in the Maribyrnong River in Melbourne’s inner west.
A fisherman made the discovery two days later.
Bogojevska joined a group of neighbours discussing Whitehand’s disappearance the day her body was found, telling them she had not seen the woman for a week.
That was a lie, and she had gone further by ransacking Whitehead’s home.
The killer stole cash, jewellery, debit cards and IDs before splurging the money on lottery tickets, vouchers and ordering nearly $4000 worth of shoes and iPads.
Bogojevska told police she was not a killer when she was arrested four days later.
As detectives searched her home, couriers turned up to deliver the online orders linked to Mrs Whitehead’s card.
Bogojevska was initially charged with murder, but prosecutors later accepted her plea to manslaughter.
Whitehand’s son Gary O’Brien died in June, never justice served on his mother’s killer.
In a prepared statement, he told the court he missed his mother’s voice and could no longer bear to look at the Maribyrnong River.
While conceding Bogojevska had shown no remorse, the defence said prison would be more difficult due to health issues, also referencing her difficult upbringing and experiencing abuse.
The prosecution argued the offending was callous and against a vulnerable woman.
But it accepted there was no way to tell if she had intended to kill her neighbour.
SOURCE: https://www.nine.com.au/australia-news/vic/lolene-whitehand-shock-tears-as-calculated-melbourne-neighbour-killer-milena-bogojevska-sentenced-20260820-p60q17.html
