Devastated family calls for harsh punishment of Ted Bundy inspired Sydney hotel murderer

The family of a girl killed in a Sydney hotel room by a man with an infatuation with serial killer Ted Bundy can no longer celebrate birthdays.

The girl was murdered by 21-year-old Kristian Kovaleff, who pleaded guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Kovaleff attacked two teenage girls, including the victim, at the Meriton apartments in Parramatta on December 18, 2020.

The victim was about to celebrate her 18^th birthday

Justice Stephen Rothman heard Kovaleff he had traded his phone in at Cash Converters for $500, before purchasing a hand saw, rope, duct tape and garbage bags from Bunnings.

Kovaleff had previously thought about killing the survivor before the attack. He told his barrister he was “jealous” and thought he would feel happy if “no one else could get with her”.

He had picked the two girls up from the train station after a high school celebration. He then drove them to a hotel and hid a hunting knife in the room he was meant to help them check into.

Kovaleff wanted to be alone with the girl he wanted to sleep with.

“I knew I couldn’t get [the deceased] to leave, so I decided to kill her,” he said.

The killer admitted to court his thoughts were not normal, however the court heard he feigned mental illness symptoms, while in custody for 12 to 18 months.

The sister of the deceased called on Kovaleff to be punished after ruining many lives.

“[Her] heartless murder will burn in our minds and souls for the rest of our lives,” one sister said.

The dead girl’s father now carries her ashes everywhere he goes.

“My dear baby. You left the house happily to celebrate a birthday. You did nothing wrong and out of nowhere you suffered a tragedy,” the mother’s statement read. “We can’t imagine what happened in the room. Why did you have to suffer all of this?”

The mother said the “family will never celebrate birthdays again”.

Kovaleff will be sentenced at a later date.

Jonathan Jackson - 9-2-23