Authorities in Melbourne are piecing together the details of a brutal double homicide that has left a community stunned and grieving.
Police discovered a gruesome crimescene on Monday night. After receiving a call to Mount Waverly, authorities found the bodies of Athena Georgopoulos, 39, and her partner Andrew Gunn, 50, whose body was mutilated. According to local news outlets Gunn had been decapitated with his head placed on a spike. To add to the surreal and horrific nature of the crime, their home was covered in seemingly vegan inspired graffiti like “Karma is not a menu,” “Meat is murder,” and “Enough is Enough.”
Police responded to the scene shortly before 10 p.m. and quickly began searching for a suspect. About four hours later, officers arrested a man at Westall train station, roughly four miles from the crime scene. Victoria Police identified him as 34-year-old Ross Judd, who is unhoused. At the time of his arrest, Judd reportedly had blood on his shirt. He has since been charged with two counts of murder and appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Investigators say Judd was known to the couple, though they have not yet detailed the nature of that relationship. “The message here is that it appears to be a targeted attack,” homicide detective Dean Thomas told reporters.
The scene inside and outside the home has been described as deeply disturbing. Police say they are working to determine whether the graffiti is connected to the killings or serves as a separate message. News footage captured the writing along the property’s walls as forensic teams examined the area.
Neighbors and family members are struggling to process the violence. Georgopoulos’ aunt, Petty Dilveridis, was seen at the scene trying to get past police tape. Later, she spoke of her niece’s joy at being pregnant. “She was so looking forward to having a baby, because she was 39 and never thought she could have one,” Dilveridis told The Herald Sun.
Neighbor Ben Scott-Sandvik described the shock of encountering the aftermath. “No one should have to come across what I saw down there,” he said, adding that the crime has shaken residents’ sense of safety. Another neighbor, identified only as Dimmi, recalled knowing Georgopoulos as a child and expressed disbelief that such violence could happen so close to home. “She was a lovely girl. A very nice girl. I’m so, so sad,” she said.
Athena’s mother, Petty Georgopoulos, posted a brief tribute on Facebook in Greek: “I will not cease to always love you. Until we meet again my daughter, in the angel’s light.”
Police have urged anyone with information to come forward as they continue to investigate the motive behind the attack. For now, a quiet Melbourne neighborhood is left with grief, questions, and the lingering shock of a crime that took two lives — and ended another before it began.
