Melbourne granny Lolene was bashed, wrapped in plastic and dumped in a river before her killer went on a shopping spree – and she could be released in under four years

A Victorian woman, Milena Bogojevska, has been sentenced to eight years in prison, with a non-parole period of six years, over the manslaughter of her 85-year-old neighbour Lolene Whitehand, whose body was found dumped in Melbourne's Maribyrnong River. Because she has already served 755 days and pleaded guilty to the reduced charge rather than murder, Bogojevska could be released in under four years, a sentence that has angered Ms Whitehand's family and community amid wider frustration over crime in Victoria.

Ms Whitehand's body was discovered by a fisherman in Flemington on 14 July 2024, wrapped in plastic, having been beaten and smothered with a tea towel forced into her mouth. She was last seen alive entering Bogojevska's home on Glamis Road on 12 July before going on a shopping spree with the victim's money. Justice Jacinta Forbes cited Bogojevska's early guilty plea, difficult childhood and health issues, including kidney failure, as mitigating factors, while prosecutors gave no explanation for dropping the murder charge, though this was linked to unresolved questions over the exact cause of death. Ms Whitehand's daughter told Bogojevska to "rot in hell", and a neighbour said the manslaughter charge failed to reflect that her death "wasn't an accident".