Estranged husband charged with murder following death of mother in Mill Park
The estranged husband of a woman remembered as a loving mother has been charged with murder after the woman's body was found in her home on Tuesday night.
Elaine Pandilovski, 44, was found dead in her Mill Park home on Hawkes Drive about 9.30pm on Tuesday by police who were conducting a welfare check.
Elaine and Zoran Pandilovski. Credit:Facebook
Her estranged husband, Zoran Pandilovski, 45, was arrested earlier on Wednesday and charged on Wednesday night. The Epping man was in hospital under guard after he was involved in a car crash on Tuesday morning.
He will remain in custody until he faces Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Thursday.
Ms Pandilovski, who had a young son, worked as a teacher's aide at Plenty Parklands Primary School in Mill Park.
The alarm was raised when she didn't attend work on Tuesday. Family members went to her house to search for her but couldn't find her. The couple's son was being cared for by his grandmother at the time.
A family member, who didn't want to be named, said the relatives who went to the house saw her car in the garage and realised she hadn't been to work. Police were called and came to search the home, where they found Ms Pandilovski's body.
The relative said Mr Pandilovski had been involved in a head-on car crash on Tuesday morning and was taken to hospital. Police said two cars collided head-on on Davis Road at Mount Cottrell – about 50 kilometres from Ms Pandilovski's home – about 10.30am on Tuesday.
"It is believed the collision may be linked to the Mill Park homicide," a police spokeswoman said.
Paramedics took three people to the hospital after the collision. Mr Pandilovski was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition with lower-body injuries.
A man in his 30s was taken to Sunshine Hospital in a stable condition with minor injuries, and a teenager was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition with upper-body injuries.
Ms Pandilovski's aunt Mary Yoannidis wrote on social media that she was in shock. "My beautiful niece, words can't explain how we are feeling now. Your life was taken from us and we couldn't help," she wrote.
"I love you always, life will never be the same, our hearts will never be the same."
Claire McInerney, the principal at Plenty Parklands primary school, said counselling was being offered to staff and students. "Our school community is coming to terms with this sad news. We are deeply shocked and saddened by the loss of such a positive, supportive and professional member of our community," she said.
The couple had been married for more than 15 years but had separated in recent years. Mr Pandilovski was living in Epping.
One neighbour said they had seen him mowing the lawn out of the front of the Mill Park property in recent weeks.