Man who left stepdad to rot could be paroled in weeks

The grieving daughters of a man left to rot in bed for 14 months have spoken of the pain of losing touch with their father while their half-brother was jailed for manslaughter.

Nikola Golem, 51, was sentenced to nine years in prison on Friday for failing to provide for his stepfather Tomislav Nemes before his death in February 2022.

But he will be eligible for parole on August 21 after Superior Court Judge Rebecca Treston took into account his almost three years in custody and Golem’s serious physical ailments.

Mr Golem’s two grieving daughters from his first marriage described the pain of being separated from their father for months before his death and their subsequent desperate search for answers.

They explained how the Golem, who did not seek medical help after Nemes fell into a coma and died at his home on the Gold Coast on February 24, 2022, brutally betrayed Nemes.

The court heard Mr Nemes shared the home with his stepson and second wife Dragica, who refused to co-operate with police investigations and was not charged.

Mr Nemes had been bedridden for six months before his death and the court was told he and his wife, a Jehovah’s Witness, were suspicious of traditional medicine.

The court heard the successful businessman seized Golem’s phone after being suspected of making speculative financial investments and being estranged from his family.

In a victim impact statement read to the court by prosecutor Stephanie Gallagher, Mr Nemes’ daughter Suzanna Beljanski described how she and her children drove from Canberra to the Gold Coast in April 2023 in desperation.

But he was denied entry and did not know his father was dead for over a year.

Four days later, when police entered the property to conduct a welfare check at his daughter’s request, they were confronted by the decomposing, unrecognizable and partially mummified remains of Mr. Nemes.

Ms. Beljanski told the court how Mr. Nemes became estranged from his family, his children, his grandchildren and his elderly mother, after previously maintaining a close relationship with all of them.

“He lost his security in his own home, he lost his honor, he lost his children,” he said in the statement.

“When he died, the dead were not given due respect.”

The court heard that Mr Nemes’ wife continued to sleep with her son for a while until the smell became too strong after he lied when he said his condition was improving.

Mr. Nemes was sealed with a towel under the door in the air-conditioned room.

Another daughter, Elizabeth Marzano, told the court how their father cared for his severely disabled stepson.

“She carried Nik up the stairs on her back because she believed she couldn’t do these things on her own… She took him wherever he wanted to go so that Nik never felt isolated or left behind,” she said.

Golem’s lawyer agreed that the objective facts of the case were horrific.

But he noted mitigating factors such as his client’s disabilities, cognitive impairments and his second wife’s alleged failure to take appropriate precautions before or after Mr. Nemes’ death.

“He didn’t kill anyone,” lawyer Martin Longhurst said.

Golem, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and tampering with a corpse, continued to provide care to Mr. Nemes until he fell into a coma, the lawyer said.

But he acknowledged his client’s behavior after Mr Nemes’ death was “incredibly strange”.

He told the court Golem suffered a brain injury in a car accident when he was eight months old, leaving him with an intellectual disability and an estimated IQ of 70.

He said that he spent the time he spent in custody in a wheelchair, wore a protective headgear after part of his skull was removed, and had a seizure.

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