Walking into a meeting room one morning, manager Elysia Krstevski prepped herself for the next few interviews and was feeling optimistic about filling the admin role.
Then *Sarah waltzed in carrying a notepad – though her appearance wasn’t what she had expected for the otherwise keen applicant before her.
Sarah’s hair was oily, her clothes were dirty, she ‘reeked of cigarettes’ and Elysia said the only way to describe her was ‘rough around the edges’ on face value.
‘This is going to be a time waster,’ Elysia thought as she introduced herself to Sarah, who was in her mid-50s.
But as soon as Sarah opened her mouth, Elysia was blown away by how well-spoken and impressive she was.
‘Her appearance looked a bit rough, but she was so articulate, warm and intelligent,’ Elysia, from Melbourne, told FEMAIL.
‘After the interview I had this gut feeling to take a chance and give her a go… so I did.’
Sarah worked for the company for about six years and was adored by all her co-workers. But then one morning in 2021, she didn’t show up.
Elysia Krstevski (pictured, right, with her husband) told FEMAIL about a dreadful day she’ll never forget after an employee didn’t arrive at work one day in 2021
Elysia hired a woman called Sarah* who was ‘adored by everyone’ in the company. Out of the blue after a work event, she received a strange text from Sarah. In hindsight it was a warning sign of something far worse going on in her life
‘I didn’t know it at the time, but when Sarah applied for the job she was living on the streets,’ Elysia, now 36, said.
‘I noticed at work she never brought lunch and if we offered a shared lunch she’d always be the first to take a doggy bag home.’
Not long after working at the company Sarah confessed to living in a women’s shelter after leaving an abusive relationship.
‘I have to be honest, I don’t have a home,’ she told Elysia. The honestly took her by surprise and the company helped Sarah find a rental property.
Over the years Elysia said Sarah never had any weekend plans and rarely spoke about family or friends.
‘She appeared to live a very lonely life and didn’t seem to have much support around her,’ her boss recalled.
As a manager, Elysia didn’t want to pry or appear nosey by asking questions about what she believed to be ‘none of her business’.
In the text from 2021, Sarah disclosed how she came ‘so close’ to death the year prior
But one night after a work event, Elysia received a strange text from Sarah.
In hindsight Elysia believes it should’ve sent alarm bells ringing, but she didn’t want to ask questions or cause her colleague any distress.
‘When I received the text I remember thinking, “What the hell?”. It was so bizarre,’ Elysia recalled.
In the text, which was sent in 2021, Sarah disclosed how she came ‘so close’ to death the year prior and was thankful Elysia gave her a go.
‘I ended up being homeless for a year after exiting an emotionally and physically violent relationship voluntarily and was really vulnerable, as you would remember,’ part of the text read.
‘An experience that I would not wish upon anyone! Thank you for bearing with me during that time. It still means the world and always will.’
At the time Elysia was no longer Sarah’s direct manager and didn’t talk to her as often in the office, but still kept in touch.
A few months later after receiving the text, Sarah tragically passed away in her home. Police didn’t disclose how she died (stock image)
NO CALL, NO TEXT
A few months later, Elysia went to work like any other day. But something was off.
Sarah didn’t turn up to the office. She didn’t call, text or email anyone. Was she sick? Had something happened? No one knew.
‘At first, I tried to tell myself it was nothing – maybe she was running late or had taken the morning off and just forgotten to let someone know,’ Elysia recalled.
‘Still, knowing she didn’t have many people around her, it felt wrong to sit around and not do anything.’
Before sitting at her desk to start the day, she confided in a colleague and voiced her concerns. The two decided to go check the rental Sarah lived in.
‘We just wanted to make sure she was okay,’ she said.
The property was only 20 minutes away so they set off.
After arriving they knocked on the front door and waited. No answer. Elysia called Sarah’s name but there was no response.
They did a loop of the one-storey property and noticed the lights were on, but everything else was still… eerie.
‘Then I noticed her cat, clearly distressed perched on the windowsill inside the house. I instinctively looked through the window again,’ Elysia recalled.
‘That’s when we saw her.’
The details of what they saw were too painful for Elysia to disclose, but Sarah had tragically died.
‘We didn’t say a word… we just stood there, frozen, trying to make sense of what we were seeing. I remember the shaking. I couldn’t stop, I’d never seen someone like that in my life,’ she said.
‘There’s no way to explain what that moment does to you. Time seemed to slow, and everything went quiet.
‘We called the police straight away. I don’t even remember what we said, just that we got the words out, and that help arrived quickly. It all felt surreal.’
Police and emergency services arrived at the scene within minutes and instructed Elysia not to go inside the home for her own mental health.
She then called her husband who was lost for words in disbelief.
To this day Elysia doesn’t know the cause of Sarah’s death, and there were no news reports on it that she can recall.
But she was aware that Sarah was in a violent, abusive relationship which resulted in her being homeless and stuck in a dangerous cycle.
‘I know she was living in a shelter while showing up to work with quiet strength that most of us didn’t know,’ she said.
‘I’ll never forget that day. The weight of it. The grief. The heartbreak, not only for the loss itself, but for everything she must have been carrying alone. I knew pieces of her story, and in that moment, it all just hit and I wish I did more.
‘I just wish there was more I could’ve done.’
GIVING BACK
The tragedy inspired Elysia to launch the Mum Giveback campaign to raise money for domestic violence survivors ahead of Mother’s Day.
‘I created this campaign to shift the spotlight from curated, commercialised motherhood to real, raw support for mums doing it tough – especially those escaping domestic violence or living in crisis,’ she said.
‘This campaign isn’t just about donations. It’s about dignity. It’s about making sure no mother feels invisible.
‘It’s about honouring the ones we couldn’t reach in time by showing up for the ones we still can.’
On average, one woman every 11 days is killed by a current or former partner and one of four women have experienced physical or sexual violence by a current or former partner.
For more information on how to donate, click here.
*Name changed to protect privacy
