Man jailed for stabbing stepfather to death while psychotic

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 10 Nov, 02:32 · Archive

Mehmet Bertan has been sentenced to eight years and six months for fatally stabbing his stepfather Tony Di Falco during a psychotic episode.

Mehmet Bertan, 34, stabbed his stepfather Tony Di Falco, 61, multiple times inside Di Falco's Hillside home in Melbourne's northwest on 4 October 2024. Three of the blows were fatal, striking Di Falco's neck. Di Falco collapsed and died outside in a pool of blood whilst attempting to get help.

Bertan arrived at the family home in a taxi on the morning of the attack carrying a knife in a bag, after his mother and sister's partner had left for work. He then stabbed his stepfather in what Justice Rita Incerti described as a 'violent and sustained' attack. The judge found that Bertan's schizophrenia had seriously compromised his ability to think rationally about the outcomes of his actions.

After stabbing Di Falco, Bertan broke into his pregnant sister's room, telling her 'one last sexual favour before I kill you'. He removed his clothes and jumped into her bed but she managed to escape after police arrived. When Bertan did not drop the knife, an officer fired a warning shot inside the home. He was shot when he advanced on police outside.

Bertan was sentenced on Tuesday in the Victorian Supreme Court to eight years and six months with a minimum term of five years imprisonment. He maintained his guilty plea to manslaughter rather than pursuing a mental impairment defence based on his schizophrenia diagnosis.

How it is being reported

• Stepson jailed over cancer-survivor's fatal stabbingA man has been jailed over a "violent and sustained" psychosis-induced stabbing which killed his stepfather.Perth Now · 10 Nov, 02:19
• Stepson jailed over cancer-survivor's fatal stabbingA man has been jailed over a "violent and sustained" psychosis-induced stabbing which killed his stepfather.The West Australian · 10 Nov, 02:19

In this story: Mehmet Bertan · Tony Di Falco · Justice Rita Incerti · Hillside · Melbourne · Victorian Supreme Court

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