A Sydney man who murdered his toddler son in May 2023, has been sentenced to more than 28 years in prison and will be eligible for parole in 2041.
48-year-old Nathan Vikatos was handed a non-parole period of 18-and-a-half years for the tragic and horrific death of his three-year-old son, Alexi Vikatos.
Justice Paul McGuire declared that “By killing his own infant child, the offender has perversely and egregiously breached the trust, protection and love that Alexi deserved.”
Vikatos pleaded guilty to murder in November last year for fatally stabbing Alexi in the bathroom of a Riverwood unit. He claimed becoming increasingly paranoid about police surveillance and his son being removed from his care.
Justice McGuire said the crime was a “monstrous breach” of a father’s duty to care for his son and acknowledged that no jail term of any length could bring a victim back, nor be equated to their life. The judge relayed the agreed facts in the case, including horrific details of Alexi’s injuries which are too graphic to publish.
The court heard that Alexi’s biological mother died from “unascertained natural causes” in 2021. Vikatos then reconnected with a previous partner who observed him to be agitated and paranoid, falsely, about police surveillance.
The NSW Supreme Court was also informed of a domestic violence report submitted by his partner. Police officers spoke with Vikatos and said domestic violence allegations were taken extremely seriously.
The court heard that Vikatos intended for the crime to be a murder-suicide. After being taken into custody, he asserted that he had brought his son into the world, and he could “take him out of it”.
“I know that I’ll probably get 30 years and come out as an old man, but I’d rather that than have my son given to FACS [Department of Communities and Justice]. No way I was ever going to let that happen,” he was recorded as saying.
A forensic psychiatrist who spoke with Vikatos believed he met the criteria for a diagnosis for delusional disorder, substance use disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Vikatos was a methylamphetamine user.
During an interview, Vikatos claimed to be in a state of psychosis and had been hearing voices at the time. However, the psychiatrist said this was inconsistent with what he said at the scene, what he later told staff at hospital, and his admissions in custody.
Many relatives and loved ones filled the St James Road court. Several of Alexi’s family members gave heart-wrenching victim impact statements which Justice McGuire said were poignant in outlining in the impact of the crime.
The statements described him as a “lovely little boy” who was deeply loved. They condemned Vikatos’ actions as selfish and inhumane and cite having enduring nightmares and vivid flashbacks of the funeral and difficulty comprehending the crime.
Justice McGuire said Vikatos had “guarded” prospects of rehabilitation, and he was unimpressed by the offender’s “extremely limited” expressions of remorse and contrition.
Source: ABC News
