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Bianca Filardo.
The identity of a woman whose brother was shot dead after he attacked her with a samurai sword, partially severing her arm, has been confirmed as Victorian sales professional Bianca Filardo.
Filardo, 48, remained in a critical condition at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Friday, two days after police found her unconscious in a bedroom, being strangled by her brother.
Filardo’s mother phoned police to report a fight between her adult children before officers arrived at her Warburton Highway home at Yarra Junction about 5.30pm on Wednesday.
Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner Russell Barrett described the scene they discovered as “every police officer’s nightmare”.
Officers, trying to stop the assault, saw that Filardo’s arm had been partially severed.
Police said they Tasered Filardo’s brother three times, but he continued strangling her before an officer shot him.
Filardo was flown to hospital and put into an induced coma, while her brother – a 45-year-old Yarra Junction man who is yet to be named – could not be revived.
Filardo was a sales professional with more than a decade’s experience working in e-commerce, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Her profile lists her latest role as working at telecom service provider Cellcast, which previously described her as “our head of innovation, always [ready] to build the next piece of Cellcast”.
Police said the attacker had a history of mental health issues. A samurai sword found inside the home was used in the assault.
At the time of the attack, two other family members were also inside the home. A Yarra Junction woman, 77, was taken to hospital and treated for shock and a Yarra Junction man, 49, was not injured during the incident.
Neighbour Julie Upton said the family had lived in the home on Warburton Highway for almost 20 years. The brother and sister lived with their mother.
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“I feel for the mum,” Upton said. “It’s very sad. They’re just a quiet family. The mum’s lovely … you don’t want this to happen to anyone. It’s terrible.
“They’re just a regular family as far as anyone else would know.”
Homicide squad detectives are investigating the matter with oversight from Professional Standards Command, which is standard procedure for a fatal police shooting.
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