A man has pleaded guilty to murdering an Altona North father of two in who went to the assistance of a pregnant woman involved in an altercation.
Jonathon Sporton had been due to stand trial in the Supreme Court for murdering Roger Bertocci in December 2014, but formally pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday.
Defence barrister Richard Edney told Justice Christopher Beale that he had visited Sporton in the Supreme Court cells on Tuesday morning and he indicated he wanted to change his plea to guilty.
Justice Beale remanded Sporton for a pre-sentence hearing on April 1.
Psychiatrist Dr Leon Turnbull is expected to visit Sporton next Tuesday at Port Phillip Prison to prepare a report for the defence.
HELEN BERTOCCI WITH DAUGHTERS BRYLEE AND ASHLEE AT A MEMORIAL PARK BENCH NAMED IN ROGER’S HONOUR. PICTURE: JOE MASTROIANNI
Mr Bertocci, 46, was stabbed to death at a busy Altona North intersection on December 14, 2014, after he pulled over to help the pregnant woman on Blackshaws Road, just 200 metres from his home.
Sporton then barricaded himself inside an Altona North home with his 24-year-old fiancee, the woman he had been attacking, before being arrested after a nine-hour siege.
Mr Bertocci’s wife, Helen, told Fairfax Media in July 2015 how she had driven past the crime scene and saw the police cars and flashing lights when returning from Christmas shopping.
“Whatever Roger saw, he felt compelled to take that course of action.
He was a man of action,” Helen said. “It’s not easy. I cry every morning and every night. Even on the train. I really miss him.”
By Mark Russell, The Age
