Woman found guilty of murdering her partner’s dad Kon Kritikos

Danielle Lee Birchall has been found guilty of murder after she “savagely” beat her partner’s 87-year-old father Kon Kritikos to death.

Birchall faced two murder trials over the death of Kritikos in November 2020.

He was found badly beaten, but still semi-conscious, on the floor of his Coburg property, in Melbourne’s north, by his son George and Birchall, on November 11. When George asked his father “who did it?”, he replied “afti, afti, afti” meaning “she did it” in Greek.

Kritikos was taken to hospital but died from his injuries about two weeks later.

Birchall was charged with murder but pleaded not guilty, facing trial initially in July 2023. After about a month, the jury was discharged.

A new trial started in early October, where jurors were informed that Birchall had “savagely beaten” the vulnerable Kritikos in his own home with a weapon, leaving behind a “bloodied mess” that included her own footprints.

Birchall’s defense acknowledged the elderly man had been killed but argued that Birchall was not responsible for the murder.

The jury began deliberations on November 6, with all 12 jurors returning a guilty verdict on Tuesday, November 12.

Birchall was taken back into custody and will return to court on February 18 for a pre-sentence hearing.