Nikkita Azzopardi was killed in her own home by crazed monster Joel Micallef - but what came next will horrify and disgust you even more
Melbourne woman Nikkita Azzopardi had her bags packed and was ready to start a new life when she was beaten to death with a fire iron by her crazed partner.But her body wasn't found for another two days, until her brothers broke down the door of her home to confront Joel Micallef inside - and made the horrific discovery. The Victorian justice system has now found Micallef, 34, was not responsible for his actions. He was found not guilty of murder because of mental impairment, after the Supreme Court of Victoria heard he had schizophrenia and was in the grips of 'acute psychosis' when he killed Ms Azzopardi, 35.
Ms Azzopardi's brothers Shaun and Darren discovered her battered body two days after Micallef killed her on October 26 last year inside their South Morang home, in Melbourne's north-east. The scene of horror remains seared in their memory.But now, Micallef's planned transfer to Thomas Embling Hospital, a mental health facility, has hurt them just as deeply. The brothers allege Micallef's mental health was exaggerated to excuse what they see as cold-blooded murder. 'There was enough hard evidence there displaying motive, displaying intent,' Darren told an upcoming episode of Daily Mail's The Trial Australia podcast. Nikkita Azzopardi (pictured) had her bags packed and was ready to start a new lifeRead More Nikkita wanted to make life perfect but her lover allegedly beat her to death. Now he's revealed why 'Our sister was taken on the Saturday. The night before on the Friday, there was an argument. My sister had intentions to leave him, started packing her car.'Darren claims Micallef then imprisoned his sister within the family home, deadlocking the doors with her inside before leaving. 'Basically it's imprisonment where he had taken her keys, car keys, so she can't leave. Taken the house keys, locked the house,' Darren said. 'And despite all that, to me, in the research I've been doing, that's enough evidence there to rule out mental impairment, because there was motive, there was intent, there was a lot of questionable things going on at that time. 'He was out and about. Apparently he saw my sister as a threat.' Ms Azzopardi had been in contact with her partner's father while locked in the house, but those messages were later deleted. 'Around 6pm there was that 38-minute WhatsApp conversation, a video call. It was also revealed the text exchanges between Joel's father and our sister were deleted by Nikki,' Shaun said. 'So it showed what that demonstrates to us is control. He was going through her phone, who knows how often, but she wanted to just remove everything there. 'There's definitely the element of control there. And I think she feared for her life and she didn't know what to do.'The court heard evidence from two forensic psychiatrists who said Micallef was acutely psychotic and experiencing paranoid delusions when he attacked Ms Azzopardi in their home. Nikkita Azzopardi was beaten to death by Joel Micallef Joel Micallef locked Nikkita Azzopardi in their home (pictured) before returning and bashing her to death'He believed his partner had in some way been replaced by a demon,' Dr Andrew Carroll told the court.Ms Azzopardi's devastated family rejected the diagnosis. 'If he really saw my sister as a threat to his safety, his life, which he had stated, then why wouldn't you let her go?' Darren said. 'Why, why leave her in the house? Why would you stop her from leaving against her will? These are the questions that we can simply not get answered. 'And during that court, the last court hearing at Supreme, they were just purely focusing on Joel's history and the Mental Impairment Act and nothing more.Shaun claimed Micallef had been off his medication at the time of the attack, despite assertions he had been taking them. 'When I went to the property in South Morang to collect Nikkita's things, I went upstairs and I found two bags of medication,' he revealed.'They were dated June and July... I've got proof the medication was still in blister packs and not taken.'The brothers believe there was enough evidence to run a trial, but prosecutors refused to push ahead. Shaun Azzopardi and his family pictured outside the Supreme Court of Victoria'We wanted a jury from the start,' said Shaun. 'And I have to say the first session that we had with the OPP, it was, there was empathy shown and they were going to work with us all the way to bring justice.'We were told we will get justice. As the meetings went on, we definitely saw a shift in mindset.'Shaun claimed prosecutors wanted little to do with his family upon making their decision to accept the mental impairment plea. 'During our latest Teams meeting, our father tried to speak but was muted,' Shaun said. 'Now that's crazy. So we're not heard and justice, there was no justice provided at all. So yeah, we want a jury and we want the decision made that way.'The brothers believe their sister's case was simply placed in the 'too hard basket'. Shaun added: 'Pretty much they made their mind up straight away. Shaun and Darren Azzopardi and their sister and step mum 'In our second session we had a mental health expert sitting in on the meetings telling us all about what could take place and what the processes are. 'So we knew straight away which way they were going.'The family is calling for reforms to the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act of 1997 in the hope others don't suffer their fate. A spokesperson for the OPP told Daily Mail it had acted on the advice of health officials. 'Joel Micallef was individually assessed by two very experienced and reputable forensic psychiatrists, one on behalf of the defence and one on behalf of the prosecution,' the spokesperson said. 'Both found that he was mentally impaired at the time of the offending. Upon receipt of medical evidence from properly qualified medical practitioners, as well as a verifiable relevant history, the prosecution accepted that Mr Micallef had the defence of mental impairment available to him, and the matter proceeded in court on that basis. 'The family of the deceased were extensively conferenced and kept informed throughout.'
