‘A senseless death and cruel beyond measure’: Court hears from family of Adelaide murder victim

The man who killed his “funny, compassionate and intelligent” housemate in a “merciless homicide” over a bad internet connection should feel the full effect of the law, an Adelaide court has heard.

Nikola Milosevic, 39, was found guilty in April of murdering 52-year-old Danny Barber at their North Plympton share house in August 2019.

Under the influence of methamphetamine and cannabis, Milosevic struck Mr Barber more than 30 times over several hours using a baseball bat, wheelie bin and bicycle after returning home to find a note attached to his bedroom door with a knife threatening to put an axe through his head.

During sentencing submissions, Mr Barber’s mother Elizabeth Blake told the Supreme Court her son was a highly intelligent and academic man until drugs and alcohol “ruined his life”.

“And then Milosevic took it upon himself to end it,” she wrote in a victim impact statement to the court.

“He inflicted unimaginable pain and suffering on my son.

“The assault went on for hours and no one bothered to get help for Danny until it was too late; I thought Milosevic would be sorry but he just lied.”

Ms Blake — who has terminal cancer and could not attend court due to lockdown in northern NSW where she lives — told the court no-one deserved to die in the way her son did.

“The thought of my son lying on the cold back lawn being hit with a baseball bat, bike and wheelie bin for hours until his body gave up has made coping with cancer even harder than it should be,” she wrote.

Mr Barber’s sister Lisa Wellington told the court her brother’s death was a “merciless homicide” and Milosevic deserved to “feel the full effect of the law”.

“It was a senseless death and cruel beyond measure,” she wrote in her victim impact statement.

“Danny was a person who could be funny, kind and compassionate; Danny was curious, intelligent and loved to learn — he was an avid reader, writer and a poet.

“Remembering Danny will be shrouded in deep sadness that will be everlasting; knowing that Danny need not have died and did so violently, is torture.

“Knowing Danny was alone, helpless, cold, in pain and dying is something I will never recover from.”

Milosevic ‘regrets what he did’, lawyer says

Milosevic had pleaded guilty to Mr Barber’s manslaughter but claimed he was acting in self-defence and “did not intend to kill him”.

During the trial, the court heard Milosevic was “scared for his life” after his housemate had threatened to put an axe through his head and tried to stab him in the neck over a bad internet connection.

The trial heard Milosevic hid in his cupboard in another housemate’s bedroom until he heard smashing glass, grabbed a baseball bat and went to the backyard to find Mr Barber smashing his car windows.

Milosevic told the jury at the time he started hitting Mr Barber with a baseball bat on the legs because he “didn’t want to hurt him”.

Prosecutor Carmen Matteo said Milosevic intended to inflict “really serious bodily harm” on Mr Barber but his offending was towards the lower end of seriousness.

Milosevic’s lawyer Greg Mead SC said his client felt “very badly” about what happened and Mr Barber’s conduct in the lead up to his murder should be taken into account when sentencing.

“He’s sorry for the deceased’s family, he is sorry for causing the death of Mr Barber,” Mr Mead told the court.

“He says he thinks about what happened every day; it makes him miserable to think about it.

“He regrets what he did.”

The Supreme Court heard Milosevic is appealing his conviction.

The court heard Milosevic was born in Serbia, had a difficult childhood including food shortages and emigrated to Australia in 2010 on a spouse visa.

Mr Mead told the court when that marriage broke down, Milosevic became homeless and he started using drugs.

Milosevic will be sentenced at a later date.