A Melbourne mother-of-two who was allegedly murdered by her traditional neighbor as three teenagers looked on has been identified as Vicky Van Aken.

Her neighbor Milorad Zaric, 47, was charged with murdering her outside her home in Bayswater, east of the city, on Saturday morning.

Dressed in a white forensics suit, Zaric remained silent when he appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday.

The court noted that the carpenter is withdrawing from drugs and alcohol.

Magistrate Ross Betts rejected an application for an extension of time to deliver a brief after Victoria Police said they needed extra weeks to analyze the large amounts of evidence, including forensics, CCTV and drugs analysis.

Zaric was remanded in custody to appear for an arrest on February 14, 2025.

Emergency services were called to a property in Bayswater on Saturday after receiving reports at 11.15am that a woman had been stabbed.

They arrived to find Mrs Van Aken, 51, dead outside the house.

Police say three teenagers witnessed the horrific attack, with one suffering minor injuries.

A Melbourne mother-of-two who was allegedly murdered by her neighbor as three teenagers watched has been identified as Vicky Van Aken (pictured)

Milorad Zaric, 47, was charged with murdering his neighbor on Saturday morning in Bayswater, 45km east of Melbourne’s CBD. In the picture, the police on the scene

“This is not a domestic violence incident,” Detective Sergeant Chris Ellway said Saturday.

“It’s a tragic set of circumstances. Another woman lost at the hands of a man is horrible.

Shocked neighbors said Ms Van Aken and her family were new to the area but had been seen trick-or-treating on Halloween.

Ms Van Aken, who worked at Australia Post according to her LinkedIn profile, often posted about her children on social media.

The alleged crime took place in front of three teenagers, including Zaric’s 17-year-old son, Herald Sun reported.

Ms Van Aken (pictured) worked at Australia Post, according to her LinkedIn profile

The teenager was taken to hospital with injuries to his hand.

It is not knows if he was trying to stop his father from allegedly stabbing Mrs. Van Aken.

She and Zaric are not believed to have had any problems with each other, nor were they believed to be in a relationship.

Detective Ellway said there was no confrontation before Ms. Van Aken was killed.

“It appears that the (alleged) offender went to the victim’s home and she opened the door, she was then assaulted and later died from her injuries,” he said.

Zaric was initially taken to hospital with a “medical complaint”.

“We’re not looking for anyone else. It’s an isolated incident,” Detective Ellway said.

Neighbor Glenn Rowe said he was “a bit shaken up” by the incident.

“I’ve been here 25 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said.

“It’s a bit surreal. This is terrible, I feel sorry for the children and the mother.