Sunday 20 November 2022 10:53 PM Dan Andrews' Covid lockdowns led Katie Perinovic to kill her three children in ... trends now

Sunday 20 November 2022 10:53 PM Dan Andrews' Covid lockdowns led Katie Perinovic to kill her three children in ... trends now
Sunday 20 November 2022 10:53 PM Dan Andrews' Covid lockdowns led Katie Perinovic to kill her three children in ... trends now

Sunday 20 November 2022 10:53 PM Dan Andrews' Covid lockdowns led Katie Perinovic to kill her three children in ... trends now

A mum who stabbed to death her three young children inside their home lost her mind during Victoria's hard lockdowns. 

Katica 'Katie' Perinovic, 42, murdered her children Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 one by one before taking her own life inside their Tullamarine home, north-west of Melbourne, on January 14, 2021.

Their father Tom Perinovic, who had been out buying his family a new television set when the atrocity happened, has revealed how Dan Andrews' lockdowns turned his happy and healthy wife into a monster. 

Katie Perinovic, 42, murdered her children while their father was out on a shopping trip

Katie Perinovic, 42, murdered her children while their father was out on a shopping trip

Tom Perinovic had been texting his wife asking her for an opinion on television sets he was looking to buy for the family

Tom Perinovic had been texting his wife asking her for an opinion on television sets he was looking to buy for the family

Detectives arrive at the crime scene on January 14, 2021. The carnage inside was described as 'gruesome'

Detectives arrive at the crime scene on January 14, 2021. The carnage inside was described as 'gruesome'

'There was a huge negative impact during the Covid lockdown on our family and particularly Katie. We were unable like others in Victoria to see our family and friends for so many months,' a gutted Mr Perinovic told Victorian Coroner Audrey Jamieson on Tuesday. 

Until Victorians were locked down in what would become the longest in human history, Katie had been a successful physiotherapist. 

LOCKDOWN NIGHTMARE 

Trapped within the four walls of her Tullamarine house, Mr Perinovic pinpointed the lockdown as the event that drove his wife to madness. 

'Katie had stopped working in March 2020 and was looking after her three children and trying to home school Claire at the same time,' Mr Perinovic said. 

'It was incredibly stressful and hard on both of us, particularly Katie.'

Victorians spent a whopping 262 days under hard lockdown between March that year and the end of 2021.

Mr Perinovic told the coroner that by the time Mr Andrews eased restrictions, the damage appeared to have already been done. 

'When restrictions eased, Katie had started withdrawing from friends, she would say "we can’t meet". She kept reading media articles and listening to the news over and over,' he said. 

'She started feeling worried and fear. Every day we would alternate going for walks, to get some fresh air and exercise. Just to get out of the house.'

A view of the backyard where the Perinovic family was killed.

A view of the backyard where the Perinovic family was killed. 

People continued to leave flowers outside the Tullamarine property for weeks on end

People continued to leave flowers outside the Tullamarine property for weeks on end 

Father Tomislav Perinovic (left), the children and Ms Perinovic. Mr Perinovic has been left devastated by the tragedy

Father Tomislav Perinovic (left), the children and Ms Perinovic. Mr Perinovic has been left devastated by the tragedy 

Isolated from her family and friends, Katie's mental health rapidly declined. 

'Katie’s family members wanted to come over to visit, but due to the travel 5km permitted radius, this meant they couldn’t come. We all abided by the law. Therefore, we didn’t see her family for an extended amount of time,' Mr Perinovic said. 

'It was many months. Katie’s memory started to decline during the lockdown, and she even forgot the pin number on her mobile phone. She had to send it away to get it unlocked.'

While Katie found the strength to return to her beloved job in October 2020, she resigned just weeks later under a cloud of mystery.

She had worked at the very same clinic for the previous 16 years.  

'A few days after she resigned, I got a phone call from her boss, saying "your wife needs help. Go see a doctor. I can’t tell you what she’s done." And that was it,' Mr Perinovic told the coroner.

'He said, 'you haven’t been looking after your wife." I asked in what way? He was saying she needed mental help. I have no idea what happened at her work, and I have no idea what her boss was talking about.'

It would be a suggestion of responsibility for the crime Mr Perinovic would continue to carry until this very day. 

MEDICAL FAILURES 

Concerned over her own mental decline, Katie went to see her local doctor. 

By then she had been feeling paranoid, exhausted and anxious. 

She had earlier told her husband she believed she was being covertly watched by CCTV cameras within their own home. 

The doctor prescribed her sleeping pills and sent her home, prompting Mr Perinovic to return with her the very next day in the hope of having her treated properly.

Curtains at the property can be seen closed. Tom Perinovic suspected all was not well inside. He was right

Curtains at the property can be seen closed. Tom Perinovic suspected all was not well inside. He was right

With her husband by her side, Katie was referred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital's mental health department, NorthWestern Mental Health. 

But her mental health continued to spiral out of control as the lockdowns continued. 

'Ultimately, Covid restrictions meant I was unable to come into most appointments with Katie and I would have to wait in the car or not attend. I was unaware of what was happening in Katie’s appointments or her treatment plan, unless Katie told me what was happening,' Mr Perinovic told the coroner. 

When Mr Perinovic eventually worked his way inside a consultation with his wife, she  asked him to leave in what he would later learn had been the midst of a 'psychotic episode'.

Placed on medications after her second appointment, Katie asked her husband for some time apart, which he granted. 

The separation was short lived and the family were back living under the same roof again in no time. 

With less than a month before her murderous rampage, Katie overdosed on her medications. 

She refused to go to hospital, telling her doctor the following day she had simply wanted to sleep. 

'He was in an angry mood with us. I didn’t know why. He said, "I want you to hide the medication, and give it to her every day." It was his idea for me to manage the medication. I listened, and I hid it in garage and locked it,' Mr Perinovic said.

Katie's mental health practitioner would only learn of the suicide attempt after she had already killed her family. 

'There was no discussion, or anything mentioned explicitly about the kids being at risk of harm,' Mr Perinovic said.

'(Katie) was a great mum and a very good physiotherapist. She helped and treated many patients over her career and it’s a huge shame that she was not provided with the same level of care she deserved in her most time of need.'

Police said there was no history of family violence involving the family. Pictured: Katie and Tomislav Perinovic with their daughter

Police said there was no history of family violence involving the family. Pictured: Katie and Tomislav Perinovic with their daughter

Officers who were called to the scene in Tullamarine stand with police tape outside the home on January 14

Officers who were called to the scene in Tullamarine stand with police tape outside the home on January 14

Counsel assisting the coroner Nicholas Ngai told the court Katie had no known history of mental illness or suicidality over the previous 42 years prior to her rampage apart from being known as a 'worrier, anxious, abrupt and impulsive at times'. 

THE MASSACRE 

What happened inside the family home on January 14 is the stuff of nightmares. 

One by one, Katie stabbed her children to death. 

When Mr Perinovic arrived home he found his bloody son in the front lounge with injuries to his head and arm. 

Unaware the remainder of his family lay dead in another room, he called triple 0. 

While paramedics worked on Matthew, Mr Perinovic went into the rear living room and saw what his wife had done.

'They’re all dead,' he told paramedics. 

THE ARREST  

When Victoria Police detectives arrived at the scene they instinctively believed Mr Perinovic was the killer. 

A distraught Mr Perinovic was handcuffed in front of his neighbours and immediately grilled by police at the scene while a paramedic tried to treat him for his shock. 

'When the police came there were so many people, and I was in a state of shock that I couldn’t speak,' Mr Perinovic told the coroner.

'I was just lost for words, and it was incomprehensible to me what I had just seen in my home. The police treated me unfairly ... There were so many faces and detectives questioning me outside on the nature strip in front of everyone in the street. 

'I even recall one policewoman yelling at me during this traumatic experience. I was taken to the police station for further questioning when what I really needed was to be treated for shock and have my family with me.'

When detectives were finally satisfied he probably

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT In news vacuum, rumours and concern swirl over Catherine mogaznewsen