The estranged husband of a young mum accused of murdering and dumping her body under the family home has pleaded guilty to her murder after failing to prove he was insane.
Zoran Pandilovski, 47, finally admitted to the cold blooded murder of Elaine Pandilovski, 44, in July 2020.
Her body was discovered underneath her Mill Park home, on the northern outskirts of Melbourne, after Pandilovski was involved in a serious car crash.
Elaine Pandilovski was a doting mum and cared for kids with special needs. Her body was found under the home she shared with her young son
Zoran Pandilovski (left), their son (centre), and Elaine Pandilovski
Zoran Pandilovski has been charged with the murder of his estranged wife. Pictured: Elaine and Zoran Pandilovski
Pandilovski was to face a Supreme Court of Victoria murder trial on Monday, which was abandoned after his shock admission.
The hulking brute had cruelly delayed his guilty plea for years in the hope of escaping responsibility for his actions with bogus claims of mental illness.
A forensic psychiatrist had declared Pandilovski fit to stand trial in February last year, but he refused to accept his fate.
Little remains known about how Victoria Police put its case against Pandilovski, who will now face a preliminary sentencing hearing in June.
During a hearing last year, the court heard Pandilovski had been assessed by Dr Jacqueline Rakov, who reported she believed there was insufficient medical evidence to support a defence of mental impairment.
Pandilovski then tried to get a different opinion from Dr Patrick Newton, who agreed with Dr Rakov’s diagnosis.
Pandilovski was arrested after slamming his car head-on into a random motorist in what detectives suspected at the time may have been a deliberate act to kill himself.
He faced two further charges of reckless conduct endangering life over the alleged act, which have been withdrawn by prosecutors in part of a plea deal.
Elaine Pandilovski and Zoran Pandilovski (pictured) were high school sweethearts. They had a son together
Detectives (pictured in 2020) are seen leaving the Mill Park property after discovering the body of Pandilovski’s estranged wife Elaine Pandilovski
Elaine Pandilovski’s (pictured) body was discovered after police conducted a welfare check at the home on at Mill Park
A teenage boy was among those injured in the sickening crash, which Pandilovski appeared to have escaped mostly uninjured.
Read Related Also: WATCH LIVE: Accused Killer Stepmom Letecia Stauch, Murder Trial Day Four
His estranged wife had been found dead inside her own home shortly after during a welfare check by worried police.
No explanation has been offered by prosecutors as to why Pandilovski killed his former partner.
Instead, prosecutors deliberately withheld a police summary in order to keep the allegations secret when Pandilovski first appeared in court in 2020.
At the time, his acting lawyer revealed Pandilovski had been struggling with anxiety and depression and suffered from diabetes.
Mrs Pandilovski had been a special needs school teacher, who also cared for her 10-year-old son with autism.
Elaine Pandilovski appears deep in thought as her young son enjoys an arcade game. She would be dead less than two years after the photo was taken
Ms Pandilovski’s aunt shared a heartbreaking post about the loss of a ‘beautiful, caring and compassionate’ woman
A police car is seen out the front of a residential property in Mill Park after the alleged murder
She had lived alone with the couple’s son when her life was cruelly taken.
Family became concerned for her welfare after she failed to turn up to work at the Plenty Parkland Primary School in Mill Park.
Mrs Pandilovski had been high school sweethearts with her alleged killer and previously lived together for 15 years.
But according to neighbours they had recently separated and Pandilovski was living in the nearby suburb of Epping.
Local residents said Mrs Pandilovski was a devoted mother and had been living at the single-storey home with the couple’s son.
Her vicious death rocked Melbourne and saw an outpouring of grief from friends and family.
‘My beautiful niece, words can’t explain how we are feeling now. Your life was taken from us and we couldn’t help… I love you always, life will never be the same, our hearts will never be the same,’ Ms Pandilovski’s aunt wrote on social media at the time.
‘Rest In Peace my beautiful Angel.’
Pandilovski will return to court in June.
