A killer shouted at his young daughter to say “hello” to her mother’s lifeless body, an hour after he ambushed and brutally murdered her in their garage.
Victorian mother Kaliopi Roumeliotis had barely gotten out of her car on November 30, 2022, when Joe Lo Bianco attacked her with a metal car ramp, repeatedly hitting her in the head and neck.
He left her body on the garage floor and placed the murder weapon under her head to fake an accidental death, then removed his bloodied clothes and hid them.
Lo Bianco then went next door to chat with his in-laws for nearly an hour while he waited for his daughter to be dropped off after a friend’s birthday party.
When the girl arrived, she asked for her mother and said she might be in the garage. Lo Bianco told his daughter to go say hello.
The young girl, who was referred to in court under the pseudonym Sally, found her mother’s dead body. The floor, the car and the walls were covered in blood.
Sally ran to the neighbors and begged her aunt and uncle for help. They came and started CPR, while Lo Bianco rang the alarm.
Emergency services confirmed that Ms Roumeliotis had already died.
Kaliopi Roumeliotis was murdered by her husband Joe Lo Bianco in November 2022. Ms Roumeliotis’ brother Arthur is pictured outside the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday.
Lo Bianco initially told police that his wife had likely tripped and fallen. He insisted he had nothing to do with her death because he was in the backyard cleaning out the rabbit hutch.
The 53-year-old later admitted what had happened and pleaded guilty to murder in the Victorian Supreme Court on Wednesday.
He ignored the family and friends of Mrs Roumeliotis who filled the courtroom and kept his head bowed as ten victim impact statements were read out, including one from his daughter.
In the statement read by her uncle Arthur Roumeliotis, the girl said Lo Bianco had left her with scars that would never heal and that she no longer wanted him in her life.
“My mother’s love was like being in a hug forever — you made her let go,” the statement said.
Mr Roumeliotis said his sister’s death left him completely devastated.
“I miss not being able to see her daughter grow up and guide her through life,” he told the court.
“It’s not fair that she’s gone. She had so much life left to give.”
The court was told that Lo Bianco and Ms Roumeliotis had been arguing over money after he lost his job during the pandemic for not getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
On the morning of November 30, they had an argument, with Mrs. Roumeliotis telling Lo Bianco to bring in more money.
He spent three hours that day gambling on the slot machines while she was at work.
Lo Bianco then murdered his wife when she arrived home just after 7:00 p.m.
His plea hearing continues on Wednesday afternoon.
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