Two men invaded the home of a loving couple some 26 years ago. 
These men intended to rob them. By the time they left, they had killed the matriarch of a close and loving family and irrevocably altered the future for her loving husband.
At one point, these men drank from containers in the couple's fridge - this would be their undoing.
Her name is Irma Palasics. She was killed at her home in McKellar, ACT, on November 6, 1999. She was only 68. 
Two men broke into the home Irma shared with her husband Grgeor. They  were there to rob the couple. THe men bound, gagged and brutalised both Irma and Gregor. Gregor survived their attack. He has since passed away. 
About 23 years after they ended Irma's life, Steve Fabriczy and Joseph Vekony were charged with Irma's murder when police were able to match DNA samples found in Irma's fridge to the killers.  
The men were acquitted on the murder charge but convicted on a manslaughter charge and will face a sentencing hearing this month (April, 2026).
Irma and Gregor's grandson John Mikita told media after the verdict that Gregor was forever changed by what the men had done to the love of his life. 
"Our family is today overwhelmed with grief and gratitude as those responsible have now been held accountable," he said. 
"Irma and Gregor did not deserve what was done to them on that horrific night in November 1999.
"A bashing so brutal and with such devastating consequences.
"She was our mum, our grandmother, our sister, and our friend.
"And Gregor was a gentle, loving husband and a grandfather who cared deeply for his family, for our family.
"But he was forever altered after beloved Irma's death."

Please help me get a Royal Commission into the Killing of Women and Girls - sign the petition (f you haven't already) and share it with your circle. The more voices we get the better chance we have of success!

If you want to know about Australia's femicide toll visit The RED HEART Movement - you will find every death documented, the current femicide and child death tolls and a lot of other information about violence against women and children!