A man who has been charged with murder after a dead woman’s body was found inside a burnt-out house in Preston Victoria last Saturday, had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffers from a series of disabilities, a court has heard this week.
Homicide squad detectives have charged 40-year-old Preston man Con Vlahos with one count of murder and one count of arson.
Vlahos appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court last Monday. His lawyer Anna Balmer told the court her client had previously been diagnosed with depression, anxiety and schizophrenia, he had acquired a brain injury and has lost 90-95 per cent of his hearing.
Emergency services were notified to attend a fire at a flat on Ambon Street, Preston a little before 1:30 am last Saturday morning where a body of a woman was found on the premises.
Vlahos did not apply for bail and magistrate Lance Martin remanded him in custody to face a committal hearing at the same court on 20 February next year.