Grieving father Tom Perinovic will face the new year with renewed determination as he plans to hold accountable those he believes left his children to die at the hands of their delusions.
Katica 'Katie' Perinovic, 42, killed her children Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3, one by one before killing herself at their home in Tullamarine, northwest of Melbourne, on January 14, 2021.
Their father, who had bought a new television set for his family when the atrocity occurred, will go to court next year to claim damages from his wife's GP, Dr Abid-Ur Rahman, and Melbourne Health.
Father Tomislav Perinovic (left), the children and Mrs. Perinovic. Mr Perinovic is devastated by the tragedy
As Mr Perinovic prepares to seek justice for his children, Daily Mail Australia can reveal heartbreaking details about the little lives lost.
Claire was described by her aunt Maria as 'pure joy'.
'She had a beautiful personality. She was beautiful, kind, caring, gentle, thoughtful, thoughtful, smart and funny,” Maria told Victorian coroner Audrey Jamieson at a hearing in November last year.
'She was always happy and smiling. The best big sister and big cousin.”
Claire's little sister Anna was described as the 'little entertainer' of the family.
“Cheeky, very funny and a joker with a great sense of humor,” Maria said.
'She loved learning new things and couldn't wait to get to school… she even wore her school uniform on orientation day.
“She was so motherly and cared for her younger cousins so lovingly. We miss her sucking her fingers and pacifiers.”
The two sisters had a passion for music and loved to dance together.
“I miss watching their performances together,” their stunned aunt told the court.
Detectives arrive at the crime scene on January 14, 2021. The carnage inside was described as 'horrific'
Matthew had been the little brother they all longed for.
“His two older sisters loved him so much and he loved them,” Maria said.
“He loved his cars, monster trucks, playing in the sand and digging, superheroes and wearing his superhero costumes.
“He was a sweet boy, kind and caring.”
The children would have loved nothing more than to play together in the backyard at home.
As they rode their bikes and scooters up and down the driveway, they had been a postcard example of what seemed from the outside to be a perfect family.
“They all loved painting, doing Play-Doh and drawing together. They loved going to the beach, swimming, cycling and playing in the park,” Maria said.
It was little Matthew's lifeless and bloody body that Mr Perinovic first found on that dreaded day.
Matthew had been his father's shadow.
When Mr Perinovic returned home, he found his son in the living room with injuries to his head and arm.
Unaware that the rest of his family lay dead in another room, he called Triple Zero.
As paramedics worked on Matthew, Mr Perinovic went into the rear living room and saw what his wife had done.
“They're all dead,” he told the paramedics.
A view of the backyard where the Perinovic family was murdered
People continued to leave flowers outside the Tullamarine estate for weeks
Maria told the court that her brother is now a broken man.
“How will he ever trust anyone after what his wife did,” she told the coroner.
'I'm afraid people will judge him and be unkind to him.
'For men, there is always a stigma about the way he treated his family, which is unfair. Tom was a loving, supportive, kind, loyal and hardworking father and husband.”
Mr Perinovic was initially arrested at the scene, with media not being told all day that he was not the killer.
'The media wasn't told straight away that he hadn't done it, it was 24 hours later. This wasn't good enough,” Maria said.
'Everyone thought he was a guilty man who had murdered his family. His image was all over the media.”
Mr. Perinovic was so distraught that he couldn't even talk to the detectives who barked questions at him.
“When the police came there were so many people and I was in a state of shock that I couldn't talk,” he told the court.
'I was just speechless and it was incomprehensible to me what I had just seen in my house.'
Handcuffed, he was taken away in an ambulance as paramedics tried to calm him down.
'The police treated me unfairly. I was immediately captivated. The male paramedic treated me in the ambulance while I was still handcuffed,” Perinovic said.
'There were so many faces and detectives questioning me outside on the nature strip in front of everyone on the street. I even remember a policewoman shouting at me during this traumatic experience.”
Katie Perinovic, 42, killed her children while their father was shopping
Mr Perinovic said the trauma of that day would haunt him forever.
“Living with the loss of my entire family, I still cannot believe that my wife would do this to our sweet, beautiful children,” he said.
'After it happened, I was afraid to go anywhere. I remain paranoid and uneasy when it comes to knives.
'I still have nightmares and flashbacks to what I saw that day. I have to live with this forever.
'I have wanted to end my life several times. The aches and pains never leave me. I am angry and sad most days. I hope that one day I can help others who have experienced such trauma.”
In a brief filed with the High Court last week, Mr Perinovic's lawyers claim his pain was partly caused by the alleged negligence of Dr Rahman and the NorthWestern Mental Health Service.
Victoria had been in the grip of what would become the world's longest Covid-19 lockdown when Katie apparently went mad.
'There was a huge negative impact during the Covid lockdown on our family and especially on Katie. We have not been able to see our family and friends for months, like others in Victoria,” Perinovic told the coroner.
Until Victorians went into lockdown, Katie had been a successful physiotherapist.
Isolated from her family and friends, her mental health rapidly deteriorated.
The curtains at the property can be seen closed. Tom Perinovic suspected that all was not well inside. He was right
While Katie found the strength to return to her beloved job in October 2020, she resigned under a cloud of mystery just weeks later.
She had worked at the same clinic for the past 16 years.
“A few days after she quit, I got a call from her boss: 'Your wife needs help. Go to a doctor. I can't tell you what she did.' And that was it,” Mr Perinovic told the coroner.
“He said, 'You haven't taken care of your wife.' In what way did I ask? He said she needed mental help. “I have no idea what happened at her work, and I have no idea what her boss was talking about.”
Concerned about her own mental decline, Katie went to her local doctor, Dr. Rahman.
By then she felt paranoid, exhausted and anxious.
She had previously told her husband she believed she was being secretly watched by CCTV cameras in their own home.
Dr. Rahman prescribed her sleeping pills and sent her home, prompting Mr Perinovic to return with her the next day in the hope she would be treated well, the court heard.
With her husband by her side, Katie was referred to the Royal Melbourne Hospital's mental health unit, NorthWestern Mental Health.
Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3, were all murdered in their home by their own mother
Tom Perinovic had texted his wife asking for her opinion on television sets he wanted to buy for the family
But her mental health continued to spiral out of control as lockdowns continued.
'Ultimately the Covid restrictions meant I couldn't attend most of Katie's appointments and had to wait in the car or not attend. “I was not aware of what was happening during Katie's appointments or her treatment plan unless Katie told me what was happening,” Mr Perinovic told the coroner.
When Mr Perinovic finally entered a consultation with his wife, she asked him to leave in what he would later learn was in the middle of a “psychotic episode”.
With less than a month before her murderous rampage, Katie overdosed on her medication.
She refused to go to the hospital and told her doctor the next day that she just wanted to sleep.
'He was in an angry mood with us. I didn't know why. He said, “I want you to hide the medicine and give it to her every day.” It was his idea that I would manage the medication. I listened, hid it in the garage and locked it,” Perinovic told the court.
Katie's mental health doctor would only learn of the suicide attempt after she had already killed her family.
“There was no discussion or explicit mention of the risk of harm to the children,” Mr Perinovic said.
Judge Jamieson found the treatment Katie received was 'sub-optimal' but made no link between her death and Dr Rahman's care.
“I find no causal link between North Western Mental Health and Dr. Abid-ur Rahman's treatment of Katica Perinovic and her decision to commit suicide and that of her children,” she found.
“However, I am of the opinion that the mental health care provided to Katica Perinovic is suboptimal given the circumstances.”
- For confidential support please call LIFELINE: 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au, Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467 or 1800RESPECT