Breaking: Men who killed Irma Palasics during 1999 burglary jailed

The two men found guilty of manslaughter over the 1999 cold case killing of Irma Palasics have both been jailed for more than a decade.Joseph Vekony and Steve Fabriczy, now in their 70s, were linked to the violent home invasion in Canberra by DNA left on a milk bottle and a water container in the couple's fridge.Today, in the ACT Supreme Court, Fabriczy was sentenced to 16 years and six months in jail, while Vekony was sentenced to 20 years, due to his involvement in an earlier burglary at the couple's home.Fabriczy was sentenced to a non-parole period of 11 years, and Vekony was sentenced to at least 12 years behind bars.The pair was arrested after an elaborate undercover police sting using the controversial 'Mr Big' technique.They were both found guilty of manslaughter earlier this year.'Violent home invasion of elderly citizens minding their own business'Both Irma and Gregor Palasics were gagged, bound and beaten during the 1999 home invasion. (Supplied)Mrs Palasics and her husband Gregor had been bashed, bound and gagged in their home, as they settled in for the evening.The thieves ransacked the house, stealing $30,000 from a hidden compartment in the kitchen and fleeing, leaving the 72-year-old dead and her husband injured.In sentencing, Justice David Mossop said Vekony was "almost certain to die in jail" because he had been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer.He said the two men were "equally culpable" for the 1999 crime, and intended to commit a "dangerous and unlawful act"."Reinforcing that conclusion is the bringing of duct tape in the addition to cable ties," Justice Mossop said.He said their "motive was clearly greed" due to the theft of $30,000 during the burglary.The judge also detailed Mrs Palasics's extensive injuries, including the multiple abrasions, broken nose and bruising she suffered before her death.The court heard Joseph Vekony has liver cancer, and "will almost certainly die in jail". (Supplied: ACT Policing)Justice Mossop described the crime as "a violent home invasion of elderly citizens who were minding their own business"."It's obviously offending that needs to be denounced, punished and from which other people need to be deterred," he said.But he also pointed to the fact that Vekony had not committed other offences since the 1990s and was living with terminal cancer.He described Vekony's personal circumstances as "unfortunate"."It appears that, at present, his life expectancy is approximately 12 months," he said."He has, however, during the 23 years since the offending … lived his life as if he was innocent."The judge said Vekony's condition was likely to lead to "increased frailty and reduced mobility", making him "vulnerable to injury and assault" in jail.Irma Palasics's grandson John Mikita attended the sentencing with his family. (ABC News: David Sciasci)Earlier this week, Mrs Palasics's family gave victim impact statements to the court, with her grandson saying the family had been suffering through a "life sentence of grief" since her brutal death."They attest to the shocking impact upon them," Justice Mossop said of the family's victim impact statements.He said the statements showed the strong bonds the family had to the elderly couple, and how the crime had "affected them, both at the time and in the decades since".Justice Mossop said the family had experienced "a loss of a sense of security"."The crimes committed … were life-defining events," he said.The trialThe trial went for nearly eight weeks, with the jury deliberating on charges of murder or manslaughter, as well as a raft of other charges related to the home invasion, including assaults and theft.At the start of the trial, Fabriczy pleaded guilty to involvement in the burglary, but always denied any involvement in the violence.The jury found otherwise, convicting both men of the violent attacks, but stopping short of the charge of murder, finding both guilty of manslaughter.During the undercover police operation that led to his arrest, Fabriczy made disclosures, though he always stopped short of telling anyone what actually went on in the house.Vekony told no one anything, insisting he was never there.The defence suggested caution was needed in sentencing because no one knew who did what in the house.But prosecutors called for the maximum penalty of 20 years, saying it was at the worst end of the charge of manslaughter.Why were they targeted? Steve Fabriczy was sentenced to 16 years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of 11 years. (Supplied: ACT Policing)Just how Vekony and Fabriczy knew where to find Irma and Gregor Palasics on the fateful night in 1999 remains a mystery.But the evidence showed they were a target for thieves, three times.In the first robbery in 1997 at their then-home in the Canberra suburb of Red Hill, neither of the Palasics was home when someone broke in, stealing more than $100,000 in cash stored in biscuit tins under the house.A year later, in the second robbery, Vekony and a person who has never been identified were surprised by Irma, who had gone to the garden to get a lemon for her tea.That is when she was assaulted by Vekony, who punched her to the ground, as she told him: "Don't kill me, don't kill me".In the course of the attack, Mrs Palasics pulled a balaclava from Vekony's head, which later yielded a DNA sample critical to solving the case.After the second robbery, the couple left their long-term home, moving across town to McKellar.But someone had revealed their change of address, with tragic consequences in the form of the fatal 1999 burglary.