A Melbourne woman’s boyfriend was arrested after her brother found her dead in her home and went looking for her when he couldn’t get in touch.
The family of accountant Nikkita Azzopardi, 35, was unable to reach her Sunday night after she failed to show up for a family barbecue.
Her brother Shaun said their father went to the house on Reid Street in South Morang, in the city’s north, last night to check on Ms Azzopardi, but no one answered the door.
After several failed attempts to reach Azzopardi by phone on Monday, her brother drove to the house and confronted her boyfriend, Joel Micallef, who allegedly said she was unwell and sleeping.
“I went in there and my father and my brother tried to look for her,” Azzopardi told reporters Monday.
‘He blocked the doors with chairs, but I went upstairs, walked in the door and saw my sister. I can’t get that image out of my head.’
Azzopardi said her younger sister, who had been in a relationship for at least two years, was a kind soul who would help anyone.
“She would do anything for anyone…she didn’t see the bad in people and she always saw the good,” he said.
The boyfriend of Nikkita Azzopardi (pictured), found dead in a Melbourne home where her brother found her body, has been arrested
Mrs Azzopardi, 35, is pictured with her boyfriend Joel Micallef, 35, who has been arrested.
‘You think it’s not going to happen to you, your sister, your brother, but I’m not going to see my sister again.’
The last time Azzopardi saw her sister alive was at her son’s 15th birthday, 10 days earlier, which she had organized at a go-karting venue.
“In hindsight, if you knew it was the last time, you would be doing more, you would be asking more, you would be taking pictures,” he said.
“I don’t know my father’s status, my mother’s status, my brother’s status. How do you get over this, how do you get over it?”
Azzopardi said: “It doesn’t seem real.” “I’m trying to stay strong.”
Homicide detectives are still piecing together what happened, but arrested Micallef, 33, who will be questioned in connection with the death.
Victoria Police Acting Senior Sergeant Shaun O’Connell expects investigators to be at the scene well into the night.
“They both spent time in this house but in relation to their living conditions, investigations are still ongoing,” Sgt O’Connell said.
‘The exact nature of their relationship is still under investigation.
“What I can confirm is that the parties know each other and that we are not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident.”
Azzopardi’s family (pictured) were unable to contact her on Sunday night after she failed to show up for a family barbecue.
The woman’s shocked brother Shaun Azzopardi is pictured speaking to media at the scene following his sister’s death in South Morang, Melbourne.
Police confirmed they did not know the man.
A neighbor said the confrontation scene made a detective cry.
“He was crying… other police officers surrounded him and hugged him,” Tony Naggiar, 66, told the newspaper. Herald of the sun. “I couldn’t stop crying.”
Azzopardi’s relatives arrived at the scene on Monday afternoon and the street remains cordoned off.
At least 70 Australian women and 14 children reportedly died as a result of murder, manslaughter or neglect in 2024, according to the Red Heart Campaign, which tracks and commemorates deaths across the country.
Police respond to reports of family violence every five minutes in Victoria, totaling more than 98,000 incidents in the 12 months to June, according to crime statistics.
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