Melbourne man Joe Lo Bianco, who ambushed his wife Kaliopi Roumeliotis in their garage, attacking her with a metal car ramp, has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.
Lo Bianco received the sentence in Victoria’s Supreme Court on Thursday, November 7, with a non-parole period of 18 years and six months.
On November 30, 2022, Lo Bianco waited for his wife to step out of her car at their Melbourne home before striking her repeatedly in the head and neck with a metal ramp. He left her body on the garage floor, positioning the ramp under her head in an attempt to stage the scene as an accident, and then disposed of his blood-stained clothing.
Lo Bianco then went to his in-laws’ house for about an hour until his daughter returned from a birthday party. When the girl, referred to in court as Sally, asked about her mother’s whereabouts, Lo Bianco told her to check the garage. Sally entered the garage to find her mother’s lifeless body, with blood covering the floor, walls, and car.
She ran next door for help, and her uncle and aunt attempted CPR while Lo Bianco called emergency services. Paramedics confirmed Roumeliotis was already deceased upon their arrival.
Justice Amanda Fox said leading his daughter to her mother’s body was a “deeply aggravating aspect to (his) offending,” and emphasised that Roumeliotis was “dearly missed by everyone who loved her.”
Justice Fox also highlighted that Lo Bianco’s refusal to get a COVID-19 vaccination had caused ongoing financial tension between him and Roumeliotis. Days before her murder, Roumeliotis had confided to a friend that she was “frustrated” and “had reached saturation point.”
Initially, Lo Bianco claimed he had no role in his wife’s death, telling police she must have fallen while he was outside cleaning a rabbit enclosure. He later admitted responsibility and pleaded guilty to murder in September.
Source: Nine News.
