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Police found the bodies of Athena Georgopoulos, 39, who was five months pregnant, and Andrew Gunn, 50, in a home on Adrienne Crescent in Mount Waverley about 10pm on Monday.
Gunn was found decapitated.
Ross Judd, 34, was arrested in what appeared to be a blood-soaked shirt seven kilometres away at Westall Station with two German shepherds just after 1.30am yesterday.
Just hours after the bodies were found, a witness posted to social media that they saw a man wiping blood off his hands and the dogs near the food counter at McDonald’s Clayton.
Judd was questioned by police and charged with two counts of murder overnight.
Judd, who has no fixed address, faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court today, where he made no application for bail.
The magistrate granted prosecutors a 10-week extension to prepare their initial briefing due to the complexity of the crime scene and what they say is an abundance of evidence and DNA.
The court heard it was Judd’s first time in custody and he needed to see a nurse for health concerns, but there was no reference to drug use or withdrawal.
He only spoke once to say he understood the magistrate.
He smiled and even winked at members of the media.
He was remanded to appear at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on January 13 next year.
An extensive crime scene remains at the Mount Waverley home today, where graffitied phrases including “betrayal” and “karma has no menu” were seen scrawled across the exterior of the property.
They were painted over this afternoon.
Neighbour Ben Scott-Sandvick found their lifeless bodies.
“I mean nobody should have to come across what I saw down there, nobody needs to, nobody needs to live knowing that this sort of thing is happening to their family,” he said.
Relatives of Georgopoulos said she was so happy to have fallen pregnant after believing she wouldn’t be able to.
Her mum, Petty, who was seen arriving at the scene visibly distressed yesterday afternoon, told 9News she was “just a very happy girl”.
“She was very excited about the baby,” she said.
“She knew her life was going to change for the better.”
Georgopoulos’ friend Elisha Brown described her as “happy go lucky”.
“Always had a smile on her face, always cracking jokes,” she said.
The relationship between the accused and the victims is not known but police say it was a targeted attack.
Detectives are investigating whether a drug debt or a dispute over pet German Shepherds was the motive behind the killings.
Detective Inspector Dean Thomas said the accused man arrived at the home before the start of a dispute, which allegedly resulted in the two deaths.
“The message here is that it appears to be a targeted attack. Our suspect is known to the address,” Thomas alleged.
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