Chilling new claim about what happened before alleged beheading horror in Melbourne: 'That's what spun me out'
Ross Judd, 34, is alleged to have killed pregnant woman Athena Georgopoulos, 39, and decapitated her partner Andrew Gunn, 50, before putting the father-to-be's head on a spike.
Their bodies were found by a neighbour at a residence on Adrienne Crescent in Mount Waverley, Melbourne about 9.55pm on Monday.
Judd was arrested at Westall train station in the city's south-east about 1.40am on Tuesday.
Just a few hours earlier, shortly after 11pm, diners claimed to have seen a man matching his description walk into a McDonald's on Dandenong Rd in Clayton with two large German shepherds, who waited patiently at the door.
It has now been suggested Judd and Mr Gunn may have entered a dispute over the ownership and sale of some dogs at the time of the murder.
Friends of Mr Gunn told the Herald Sun he was often seen with his beloved German shepherd, Dragon.
Elise Browne said Dragon was 'very protective' of Mr Gunn, adding: 'Morph was always with his dog.'
'That's what spun me out when I heard about (the deaths), because he and his dog went everywhere together and Dragon wouldn't let anyone near him,' she said.
Pictures shared of Judd's dogs and their distinctives scarves at McDonald's prompted some people to comment they had seen the well-behaved dogs and the man around the area previously.
A neighbour of the couple, who claimed to have heard arguing and barking dogs on the night of the alleged murders, spoke out on Wednesday.
'No one should have to come across what I saw down there,' said Ben Scott-Sandvik, who lives at the front unit in Mount Waverley block where the alleged double-murders took place.
He told the Herald Sun 'nobody needs to live knowing that this sort of thing has happened to their families'.
Judd appeared at Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, winking after he tripped as he walked to the dock.
He then smiled throughout the brief filing hearing over the two counts of murder.
The prosecution asked the court for a ten-week extension because 'it's a complex crime scene with significant amounts of DNA evidence'.
The prosecutor also said autopsies were expected to be delayed, as alleged murder victim Athena Georgopoulos, 39, was five months pregnant when she died.
Daily Mail has previously revealed Ms Georgopoulos was set to face a plea hearing at Ringwood Magistrates' Court on September 1 for car theft and burglary charges.
The alleged killer's legal aid lawyer did not oppose the unusually lengthy period to serve the brief, but told the court it was her client's first time in custody.
Judd also faces charges regarding previous allegations of making threats, the Daily Mail can also reveal.
The lawyer also said Judd needed to see the custody nurse for 'follow-up medication and physical health issues'.
Ms Georgopoulos was allegedly killed alongside Mr Gunn in what police believe was a targeted attack at their Mount Waverley home, in Melbourne's south-east.
On Wednesday, her mother Petty Georgopoulos paid tribute to her daughter in a heartbreaking post on social media.
'My little heart, you left life so unfairly that I still cannot believe it,' she said in the touching Facebook post.
'In recent days you were so happy - we made dreams together for our little granddaughter that you were going to bring into your life.
'And suddenly, everything was erased in one night, when an [alleged] murderer cut the thread of your life and of my little granddaughter's life that you were going to bring into the world in four months.
'No matter how much they separated us, I will never stop loving you. Forever. Until we meet again, my little girl, in the light of the angels.'
Ms Georgopoulos worked as a customer service representative for several electricity and insurance companies, and had been Mr Gunn's partner for three years.
The couple were found dead after police received calls from neighbours on Monday night about yelling coming from the property, and heavily armed police swarmed the Adrienne Crescent home at 9.55pm.
Inside the small unit, officers allegedly found Mr Gunn's mutilated body next to the body of Ms Georgopoulos.
Judd was arrested with two large dogs just hours later at nearby Westall Railway Station, about 6km from the crime scene, at around 1.40am on Tuesday.
Police allege Judd was known to the couple and that one of the victims lived in the unit, but they are still trying to establish the connection and alleged motive.
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