On a summer evening in January 2016, Karen Chetcuti
returned home after spending time at a local hotel in northeast Victoria. She
was 49, a mother of two, and a woman whose friends remembered her warmth,
energy, and determination to look ahead.
She had sent a hopeful message to a friend only weeks
earlier, looking toward the new year as a single woman ready for a fresh
chapter. Nobody could have imagined how abruptly that future would be taken
from her.
What followed became one of Victoria’s most
disturbing murder
investigations. The case involved a neighbor with a serious
criminal history, an elaborate attempt to mislead detectives, a
witness-targeting plot arranged from prison, and a sentencing decision that
attracted national attention.
The judge’s remarks were especially striking. Even
after years of hearing accounts of extreme violence, he said the cruelty
inflicted on Karen had left him amazed.
But the case was not only about the crime itself. It
raised difficult questions about parole
supervision, repeat
offending, victim
protection, and the consequences that can follow when warnings
about a dangerous individual are not enough to prevent another tragedy.
Who Was Karen Chetcuti?
Karen Verbunt was born on April 24, 1966, and grew up
in Epping, in Melbourne’s metropolitan area. She had a sister, Lenny, and was
raised by her mother, Clarry.
Friends remembered Karen as someone who brought
energy into the lives of people around her. Cheryl Darby, one of those who knew
her well, described her simply: “She was special.”
After finishing high school, Karen met Tony Chetcuti.
They married, had two children, Jack and Kate, and eventually settled in the
northeast Victorian community of Borelli.
The family bought a 10-acre property and named it
Jade Valley. They also took over a local hotel and pub, which they later sold
in 1995.
Although Karen and Tony eventually separated, they
remained connected through their children. By the end of 2015, Jack and Kate
were teenagers and were staying with their father, who had relocated to
Wangaratta.
Karen worked as a records coordinator for the city of
Wangaratta. She had built a life around her family, friendships, work, and
everyday routines.
Just before the end of 2015, she sent a friend a
message that captured her outlook:
“Going into 2016 single, but hopeful.”
It was an ordinary expression of optimism. In the
weeks that followed, it would become a painful reminder of the future she never
got to experience.
The Neighbor Whose Criminal
History Had Already Raised Concerns
Living next door to Karen was Michael Cardamone, born
on April 19, 1967, to Italian immigrant parents who had established a
tobacco-farming business in the Wangaratta area.
After his father died in 2014, Michael took control
of the family’s farming properties. However, his history with the criminal
justice system had begun long before that.
His first recorded assault-related offending dated
back to when he was 18. Further assault, theft, fraud, and drug-related matters
followed over the years.
For a long period, these offenses did not result in a
substantial prison sentence. That changed after a serious sexual assault
involving a 15-year-old girl in March 2005.
According to the prosecution case, the teenager was
staying in a caravan on a tobacco farm while her boyfriend worked there.
Michael entered the caravan, covered her face with a pillow, and sexually
assaulted her. He also threatened her if she reported what had happened.
She nevertheless went to authorities.
At trial, the defense argued that the teenager had initiated
the contact as part of an attempt to blackmail him. Michael did not give
evidence.
On December 1, 2006, he was convicted of numerous
charges and received an effective sentence of 10 years and three months, with a
seven-year non-parole period. The sentence was later reduced on appeal to nine
years, with a six-year minimum.
He was also placed on the sex offender register for life.
Repeated Parole Changes Before the
2016 Murder
Michael was released on parole on November 1, 2012.
His parole was cancelled in May 2013, and he was released again in March 2014.
In February 2015, parole was cancelled once more
after he was charged over the production of child exploitation material. The
charge concerned a photograph of a six-year-old girl’s exposed backside.
The matter was later dismissed. The magistrate found
that the photograph had been taken in what was described as a “quite innocent
manner.”
By July 2015, Michael was back in the community. He
moved into his elderly mother Maria’s home, which was directly beside Karen’s
property.
From the outside, the two neighbors sometimes
appeared to have an ordinary relationship. Michael occasionally offered to help
Karen with household chores.
But Karen was aware of his criminal history, and
people had warned her to keep her distance. Shortly before Christmas 2015, she
confided in a colleague that his attention was beginning to make her
uncomfortable.
That detail would later become an important part of
the wider discussion about community
safety and offender supervision.
The Last Evening Karen Was Seen
Alive
January 12, 2016, was extremely hot across northeast
Victoria. Temperatures reached approximately 99°F, making it a scorching summer
day.
That evening, Karen drove to the Raleigh Hotel, a pub
she had once operated with her former husband.
She had a beer and spoke with her neighbor Brian
Gambold and the hotel’s owner, Graham Wood. She left at around 7:45 p.m., drove
home, and settled in for the night.
Across the fence, Michael had been communicating with
a Myrtleford drug dealer named Eddie George. The two men had known each other
for approximately eight years.
At 9:09 p.m., Michael called Karen’s mobile phone.
She did not answer.
At 9:18 p.m., Karen sent what became her final known
Facebook message to a friend.
Michael called again at 9:40 p.m. This time, the call
connected and lasted one minute and six seconds. Further contact between the
phones occurred later, but investigators concluded that Karen was not present
for those subsequent communications.
Between approximately 9:18 and 10:30 p.m., Michael
attacked her.
The precise beginning of the assault was never fully
established. What investigators determined was that Karen was restrained with
cable ties, duct tape, and rope. She was most likely kept in Michael’s shed.
An eyewitness later reported seeing him wash down the
shed floor.
The Journey to Myrtleford and the
Murder at Lake Buffalo
At approximately 10:30 p.m., Michael drove Karen’s
red Citroën to Myrtleford. Her phone remained inside the vehicle and registered
on the same mobile network towers as his own phone.
He met Eddie George, obtained methamphetamine, and
returned to his home shortly before midnight.
The prosecution case established that Michael
subsequently made another journey toward Myrtleford in the early hours of
January 13. He abandoned Karen’s car and returned home by taxi at approximately
3:30 a.m.
He then set off again in his own Nissan Patrol. Karen
was with him.
For roughly two and a half hours, his phone
registered on mobile towers around Lake Buffalo, approximately 12 miles south
of Myrtleford.
That remote area became central to the murder investigation.
Physical evidence, forensic findings, and Michael’s
later statements established the extreme violence inflicted on Karen. She had
been restrained and gagged. She was given methamphetamine and xylazine, a
sedative used in veterinary medicine.
She was also injected with battery acid.
The injuries documented by investigators and
pathologists were extensive. Repeated blows caused severe fractures to the
right side of her skull, while six ribs were broken. Further injuries affected
her spine, pelvis, and shoulder blade.
The forensic evidence indicated that Karen was still
alive during at least part of the burning. Gasoline compounds were identified
in her body, supporting the conclusion that she was breathing when fuel was
poured over her and ignited.
The prosecution also presented evidence that Michael
drove over her body. Investigators believed this occurred after she had already
died.
He later told police that his vehicle had somehow
caught on her body and dragged it for a distance before it came free.
The remains were left in a remote location.
The Evidence That Began to
Undermine His Story
After the killing, Michael took several steps that
investigators regarded as attempts to conceal what had happened.
At around 6 a.m., he stopped at a service station and
bought two cigarette lighters. Security footage showed him leaving barefoot
after having discarded his shoes.
He also took his vehicle through a car wash three
times in one day.
Later, he was seen in Myrtleford driving Karen’s red
Citroën.
When police began searching for Karen, Michael
approached officers and provided an account of his supposed last contact with
her. He directed their attention toward the Ovens River, an area that did not
lead investigators to her remains.
He also claimed Karen had visited him to collect
cherry tomatoes from his garden. A container of tomatoes was placed in her
refrigerator, but forensic examination found only Michael’s fingerprints on it.
On January 14, he supplied a written statement under
oath. He claimed Karen had visited, that they had spoken about farming matters,
and that she had left at approximately 9:15 p.m.
He also attempted to explain why his cigarette
lighter might be found in her car, saying he had been inside the vehicle on an
earlier occasion.
The story was becoming increasingly difficult to
reconcile with the available evidence.
A Burning Car and Another Attempt
to Mislead Investigators
That night, Michael contacted Eddie George and
persuaded him to help dispose of Karen’s Citroën.
Michael claimed the vehicle was connected to an
insurance fraud scheme involving drug dealers who needed a car destroyed.
The two men took the vehicle to Halls Road near
Lookout Hill and set it on fire. Eddie suffered burns to his face and eyebrows
during the process.
He later told police that he had not known the
vehicle belonged to Karen. He cooperated with the prosecution.
The following day, Michael set off on a planned
holiday to Lakes Entrance with his mother and sister. He turned back after
travelling only a short distance, saying he needed to remain near the
investigation.
He then spent considerable time speaking with
homicide detectives, continuing to deny involvement. He complained that people
suspected him because of his sex offender registration.
He also spoke to a journalist from The Age, suggesting
that Karen’s killer must have been waiting for her when she arrived home.
At that stage, investigators were still working to
establish exactly what had happened.
The Bizarre Kidnapping Story That
Led to a Police Chase
On January 16, Michael contacted his lawyer, Jeff
Clancy, with an extraordinary claim.
He said two Lebanese men had kidnapped him and were
holding him inside the boot of his own vehicle.
The lawyer alerted police, triggering a statewide
search for the Nissan Patrol.
But Michael was not being held captive. He was in
Melbourne, withdrawing cash from ATMs.
Police eventually spotted his vehicle near St Kilda.
A pursuit lasting more than an hour ended in Ringwood, where officers arrested
him.
During questioning, Michael initially blamed the
supposed kidnappers for Karen’s murder. He claimed they had threatened his
family and described the killing to him.
When he learned that Eddie George had spoken to
investigators, his account changed again. He shifted the blame to George and
claimed he had merely been present.
Michael also offered to take police to Karen’s body.
Instead, he directed investigators to incorrect
locations over several hours.
By then, however, search teams had already found her.
Karen’s Remains Were Found Near
Croppers Creek Road
At approximately 12:55 p.m. on January 18, 2016,
searchers located Karen’s remains in a remote area off Croppers Creek Road,
near the place where her car had been burned.
The discovery brought a devastating end to the search
and confirmed that the case was a homicide.
Over the course of the investigation, Michael gave
police at least 18 different accounts of what had happened.
The accounts repeatedly shifted, contradicted one
another, and attempted to place responsibility elsewhere.
He was charged with Karen’s murder on January 19,
2016.
But the investigation was not finished. A remarkable
development would later emerge from inside the prison where he was being held.
The Prison Informant and the
Confession That Changed the Case
Following his arrest, Michael was held at the
Metropolitan Remand Centre.
In September 2016, he developed a relationship with
another inmate, identified in court records as BC.
Their conversations initially involved Michael
continuing to blame Eddie George. Over time, however, the discussions changed.
Michael began making statements that amounted to
admissions about Karen’s murder. He also described George as a serious problem
because he could provide evidence against him.
BC reported the conversations to police.
Investigators then arranged an undercover operation.
Michael was introduced to a supposed contact named Matty Thompson, who claimed
he could arrange George’s murder for money.
Matty Thompson was not a real criminal associate. He
was an undercover police officer.
On March 6, 2017, the detective met Michael in
custody. They discussed a plan to kill George and make the death appear to be
an overdose. The proposed arrangement also involved forcing George to write
statements falsely accepting responsibility for Karen’s murder.
The agreed price was $25,000.
Because Michael was in custody, the plan involved his
mother, Maria, delivering money in two payments. In monitored conversations,
mother and son used the word “gnocchi” when referring to the cash.
On March 23, Maria handed $9,000 to another
undercover operative.
Several days later, Michael was told that George had
supposedly been killed. He asked for a photograph of the body to be shown to
his mother.
Police intervened before the plan could progress
further.
Both Michael and Maria were charged with incitement
to murder.
The attempted plot against George added another
serious dimension to an already disturbing case. It also produced further
evidence of Michael’s willingness to try to silence someone he believed could
testify against him.
The Guilty Plea and the Judge’s
Extraordinary Sentencing Remarks
Michael’s legal team had previously sought to move
the murder trial to Melbourne, arguing that extensive publicity in the
Wangaratta region could make a fair trial difficult.
Justice Lex Lasry refused the application, and the
trial was scheduled to begin on July 31.
On June 30, Michael appeared at the Supreme Court in
Melbourne and pleaded guilty to Karen’s murder, inciting the murder of Eddie
George, and a related charge involving a breach of parole.
The sentencing hearing took place on August 21 and 22
at the Supreme Court in Wangaratta.
Thirteen victim
impact statements were submitted. Some were read aloud,
allowing the court to hear directly about the devastating consequences for
Karen’s family and those who loved her.
Justice Lasry observed that many people struggled to
put the details of the crime into words. Karen’s children, he said, were
particularly vulnerable to the horror of what had happened and would carry its
consequences throughout their lives.
Eddie George also submitted a statement. Although he
had not been killed, he described the fear and suspicion that surrounded him
after the murder. He said he had been forced to move for his own safety and had
turned to alcohol as a way of coping.
On August 25, Justice Lasry delivered the sentence.
His remarks became one of the most widely remembered
parts of the case.
“I believed I had ceased to be amazed at the level of
violence that some men are capable of inflicting on defenseless women,” he told
Michael.
The judge said the violence inflicted on Karen over
several hours had nevertheless amazed him.
He described the murder as extraordinarily vicious,
callous, and thoroughly unprovoked. He also used the words “horrifying,
depraved, and disgusting.”
The judge then addressed Michael’s claims of remorse.
He said he found those claims difficult to accept,
pointing to Michael’s conduct before and after the murder, including the
efforts to mislead investigators and the later attempt to arrange George’s killing.
Justice Lasry considered Michael’s prospects of
rehabilitation to be virtually nonexistent. He also noted that the earlier
sexual assault conviction had not led to meaningful reform.
Why the Court Imposed Life
Imprisonment Without Parole
The defense argued that Michael’s guilty plea had
spared Karen’s family the burden of a lengthy trial. It asked the court to take
that decision into account when setting the sentence.
Justice Lasry acknowledged the value of the plea but
concluded that the circumstances justified an exceptionally severe outcome.
He identified several aggravating factors, including:
·
The
prolonged and extreme suffering inflicted on Karen.
·
The
deliberate attempts to conceal the crime and mislead investigators.
·
The
repeated changes in Michael’s accounts.
·
The
attempt to arrange the murder of Eddie George.
·
The
lack of convincing evidence of genuine remorse.
·
Michael’s
limited prospects of rehabilitation.
·
The
fact that he committed the murder while on parole for a serious sexual offense.
The judge explained that refusing to set a non-parole
period was an exceptional step and an extremely severe punishment. However, he
concluded that the crime warranted it.
Michael Cardamone was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole
for Karen’s murder. He also received eight years for inciting George’s murder
and three months for the parole breach.
It was a landmark outcome in Victoria: a person with
no previous murder conviction received life without parole after pleading
guilty to a single murder.
Two years later, the Court of Appeal upheld the
sentence.
Michael would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Why Michael’s Mother Received a
Different Sentence
Maria Cardamone was sentenced separately on September
22.
The court considered evidence about her clinical
depression and early-onset dementia. Judge Gerard Mullaly found that these
conditions substantially reduced her moral culpability.
He also concluded that she had not understood the
full extent of her son’s plan. The evidence indicated that she believed the
money was intended to prevent a witness from giving evidence, rather than fully
appreciating the proposed murder arrangement.
Maria received a sentence of 141 days, equal to the
time she had already spent in custody on remand. She was released that day into
the care of her daughter.
The $9,000 payment was forfeited, and a DNA sample
was ordered.
Tony Chetcuti attended court and told reporters he
was bitterly disappointed with the outcome. Karen’s sister Lenny also expressed
anger, saying she wished Maria had remained in custody.
The sentencing judge, however, had weighed Maria’s
health, her understanding of the plan, and her individual level of
responsibility.
The two cases therefore ended with very different
penalties.
The Murder That Reignited Debate
About Parole and Public Safety
Karen’s murder quickly became a focal point for
public discussion about parole
laws, the supervision of serious offenders, and the risks faced
by people living near individuals with histories of violent offending.
Her friend Carol Roadknight became one of the
founding voices of the “Enough is Enough” campaign.
The campaign called for changes to the way the
justice system managed violent offenders and assessed public safety risks. Community
member Tania Maxwell, who later became a Northern Victoria member of
Parliament, also became involved.
Supporters organized rallies in March 2016 and again
on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House in October.
Victims’ rights campaigner Derryn Hinch also joined
demonstrations in Karen’s name. Supporters across Australia lit candles at 7:20
p.m., marking the time she was last known to have been seen alive by someone
other than her killer.
The campaign reflected widespread anger and grief.
For many participants, Karen’s case raised an uncomfortable question: had the
systems designed to supervise serious offenders adequately protected the
community?
Others cautioned that parole decisions involve complex
assessments and that individual cases should not automatically determine broad
legal policy.
That debate continues to involve difficult questions
about rehabilitation, risk assessment, monitoring, victims’ rights, and the
responsibility of public institutions.
A Previous Victim Also Called for
Reform
In 2017, the woman who had been sexually assaulted by
Michael in 2005 spoke publicly on A
Current Affair under the pseudonym Ash.
She called for an overhaul of the way authorities
handled serious offenders released on parole.
Her message was direct. She believed Michael should
never have been released.
Her comments added another perspective to the public
debate: the experience of someone who had previously reported serious violence
and then watched the same offender become involved in another devastating crime.
The case prompted renewed scrutiny of offender management,
parole monitoring,
and how authorities respond when people with histories of serious violence
return to the community.
Karen’s Family Took Legal Action
Karen’s former husband, Tony, and their children,
Jack and Kate, pursued a wrongful death claim against the state of Victoria.
Their lawyer, John Suta, argued that the state had
been grossly negligent in supervising Michael’s parole.
Court documents described the profound psychological
impact on the family. Tony, Jack, and Kate were reported to have been diagnosed
with post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and persistent
complex bereavement disorder.
In a separate civil action, Michael agreed to pay
compensation in an amount to be determined by the Supreme Court.
The claim against the state was settled out of court.
As a result, there was no judicial ruling establishing the alleged negligence.
That distinction matters. The settlement resolved the
civil dispute, but it did not amount to a court finding that the state had
legally caused Karen’s death.
Years later, Suta spoke about the continuing impact
on the family. He described the terror Karen must have experienced and the
lasting emotional burden her loved ones continued to carry.
The Community Remembered the Woman
Behind the Headlines
Amid the court proceedings, criminal investigation,
and public debate, Karen’s family and friends wanted people to remember her as
more than the victim of a notorious crime.
She was a mother, daughter, sister, friend, former
hotel owner, and valued member of her community.
She worked as a records coordinator, maintained a
vegetable garden, and had built a life that included family responsibilities
and long-standing friendships.
Her obituary appeared in The Border Mail on January 27, 2016.
On February 2, hundreds of people gathered at
Woorarra Lee Recreation Reserve to say goodbye. The family asked mourners to
wear green.
Later that month, Karen’s former school friends Wendy
Butler, Diane McDonald, and Cheryl Darby helped organize a community march. It
was planned to begin at Blackburn South High School in Melbourne, where they
had studied together.
White doves were to be released before mourners
walked along Halls Road toward the Burvale Hotel, where bands performed. Money
raised through the event was directed to a fund for Karen’s children.
These acts of remembrance were a way for the
community to reclaim the story from the violence that had taken her life.
A Life That Should Not Be Reduced
to a Crime
The legal case eventually reached its conclusion.
Michael Cardamone’s conviction and sentence were upheld, and he will remain in
prison for life.
But a court outcome cannot restore what Karen’s
family lost.
Her children lost their mother. Her sister lost
someone she thought about every day. Friends lost a woman they remembered as
vibrant and special. A community was left confronting questions about safety,
accountability, and the limits of the systems intended to protect people.
After the Court of Appeal confirmed the sentence,
Lenny spoke outside the courthouse.
“I think about Karen every day and what she went
through,” she said. “I don’t think she wanted to leave this earth so soon.”
Those words return the focus to the person at the
centre of the case.
Karen Chetcuti was 49 years old. She had sent a
hopeful message about the year ahead, gone out for a drink, and returned home
expecting an ordinary night.
Her story became part of a national conversation
about violent crime,
parole reform,
and the protection of vulnerable people. Yet beyond the legal arguments and the
judge’s extraordinary remarks, the most important fact remains painfully
simple: Karen was a real woman whose life mattered, and whose family continues
to live with her loss.
Disclaimer: This article is based on reported court proceedings and media coverage. It distinguishes court-established findings from allegations and arguments made during legal proceedings. The civil claim against the state was settled without a court ruling on the negligence allegations. This article is intended for informational purposes and does not seek to sensationalize the victim’s suffering.
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