A man has been charged with two counts of murder after police found the bodies of a man and a woman in a unit in Melbourne’s south-east.
Dozens of police, including members of the Critical Incident Response Team, swarmed to Mount Waverley after callers to triple-0 reported a disturbance at the Adrienne Crescent home about 9.55pm on Monday.
Police were told a man had arrived at the unit and yelling could be heard coming from inside.
Officers who attended found the bodies of 39-year-old Athena Georgopoulos and 50-year-old Andrew Gunn.
According to the Herald Sun, Georgopoulos, who was five months pregnant, had been expecting a baby girl.
Gunn, 50, was reportedly found decapitated according to some media reports, inside the home, which was covered in graffiti.
The Homicide Squad’s Detective Inspector Dean Thomas described the scene as traumatic and said counselling and support would be offered to officers and to neighbours in the unit block.
A 34-year-old man was found with two large dogs at Westall Railway Station a few kilometres away several hours later
The man, who is of no fixed address, was interviewed on Monday and has since been charged with two counts of murder.
The unit where the altercation occurred was covered in graffiti, including the words “karma”, “betrayal” and “enough is enough”.
Victoria Police said detectives were investigating whether the graffiti was relevant to the deaths.
The accused man will appear before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today.
Police said they believed he knew the deceased man. Neighbours told various media outlets that the deaths had left them shaken and scared.
“It’s unbelievable. It’s not the sort of thing anyone thinks about happening in their own street” said a neighbour.
Georgopoulos’s aunt, Patty Dilveridis, told the Herald Sun her niece had been looking forward to becoming a mother after believing for years she would never have children.
“She was so happy. She was starting a new life,” Dilveridis said.
“She never thought she could have a baby, and now she was getting ready to be a mum.”
Georgopoulos was the primary carer for her mother, Petty, and had supported her for more than 15 years following her parents’ separation.
Petty described Gunn as a loving partner who cared deeply for her daughter.
The couple had been together for about three years, and Georgopoulos had recently met Gunn’s parents after learning she was pregnant.
She had worked in customer service for electricity and insurance companies and was known for her warm personality. The tragedy left Georgopoulos’s mother distraught, with witnesses seeing her run towards the crime scene in tears before being escorted away by detectives.
