Abil Malovski wanted to send his ex-wife a message when he saw her out and about selling flowers for Mother’s Day alongside her new boyfriend.
On May 7, 2022, he opened fire near the roadside flower booth, where a number of people were gathered, including his 10-year-old son.
Taking a revolver, Malovski exited his automobile and shot Steven Grant, his ex-partner, at least five times.
“You think you can leave me and hang out with some other guy? Your life is not your own,” is the message it sends to her. Prosecutor David Glynn informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday, “Well you can’t.”
“That’s the message he sent and that’s the message that was received.”
Following an October jury trial, Malovski was convicted guilty of attempted murder in connection with the shooting at Melton, northwest of Melbourne.
On Tuesday, at his pre-sentence hearing, he joked and grinned while seated on a dock at the rear of the courtroom.
When Malovski chased Grant and fired shots, he was acting out of aggressiveness, envy, and a failure to accept that his relationship was over, according to Justice Andrew Tinney.
“Rather than try to move on with his life, he allowed things to overwhelm him to the point of trying to murder Mr Grant for no reason,” added the judge.
“He was prepared to try and murder a man in front of a 10-year-old child, and in front of all those bystanders, who’s to say what he’ll do in five years, 10 years.”
In order to prevent other men from engaging in a similar manner, the prosecution sought Justice Tinney to impose a term.
“That motivation of jealous control … is a significant sentencing factor,” Glynn stated.
“Deterring men such as Mr Malovski from actions that are designed to control, dominate or intimidate their ex-partners, who have the temerity to end their relationship.”
He claimed that Malovski frequently carried a loaded rifle and declared during an interview with police that “I love guns.”
Grant is paraplegic after bullets struck his spine; he nearly died from gunshot wounds.
Snjezana Peraica, his closest friend, claimed that although she used to witness him deadlift 250 kg with ease at the gym, he is now a “broken man who is hurting physically, mentally, and emotionally”.
“My happy Mother’s Day Sunday had turned into one of my darkest days, I felt broken, robbed and could not believe that someone could hurt such a beautiful human,” she recounted to the jury.
“He went from being a fit, healthy, strong person, to an emotionless zombie at the mercy of God and the machines and medical staff keeping him alive.”
While acknowledging that Malovski would have to serve a long prison sentence, attorney Daniel Sala insisted that this would provide his client time for “salutary thought” and rehabilitation.
“I’m just asking for an orthodox sentence,” he replied.
Malovski, who could spend a maximum of 25 years in prison, was returned to jail and will appear in court in the next weeks to receive his sentence.
