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Mom who killed her starving autistic teen son by feeding him just bread and soft drinks charged

Keti Jovanovska is accused of providing insufficient food, medical care, or medicine to her son when his health was declining
UPDATED OCT 6, 2022
Keti Jovanovska has been charged with mangslaughter for starving her son to death in a house that had newspaper, tape and sheets covering the windows (Screenshot/7NewsTwitter)
Keti Jovanovska has been charged with mangslaughter for starving her son to death in a house that had newspaper, tape and sheets covering the windows (Screenshot/7NewsTwitter)

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: A mother who allegedly starved her autistic teenage son to death has been charged with manslaughter. 18-year-old Joshua Djuric was found dead in a house in Yagoona in Sydney's southwest last week. Djuric's mother, Keti Jovanovska, is accused of failing to provide her son with adequate food, medical care, or medication as his health deteriorated. Despite his condition, the 52-year-old mother gave her son only bread and soft drinks to eat, according to police. The Yagoona home had newspapers, tape, and sheets covering the windows. 

On Wednesday, October 5, Jovanovska told a reporter outside her home that her son was autistic, but "of course I loved him." According to the Daily Mail, Djuric did not go to school. After finding her son unconscious around 10.30 pm on Monday, Sept 26, Jovanovska sought help from neighbors. Emergency services were called, but Joshua was pronounced dead at the scene. Court documents indicate that Djuric died sometime between 6 pm and 10.40 pm, four hours before paramedics were called to the scene.

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Jovanovska was questioned at the Bankstown police station before being taken to the hospital for examination. The next morning she was charged with manslaughter and brought before the Bankstown Local Court. The house has several boarded-up windows and an old mattress lying in front of the house. Although it belonged to Jovanovska's parents, it had been left to the mother and her son.

Neighbors said they never saw Djuric on the street. Investigators are looking into whether he had physical or mental problems that prevented him from taking care of himself. Jovanovska has not yet commented on the charges and was released on bail to appear again in Bankstown District Court on Nov. 30. According to ABC News, she must report daily to the Bankstown police station, live at her home address, and is not allowed to apply for passports or travel documents. One neighbor told the news outlet, "I'm a mother-of-five...it's very shocking to hear." The neighbor also claimed that she never saw the mother and son at the house. 

MEAWW had previously reported that a father pleaded guilty to "forcibly" shaking his four-week-old son because he was "tired and frustrated" by his crying, eventually leading to the boy's death due to head injuries. Matthew Banks, 34, of Gilbert Road in Chichester was charged with manslaughter at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday, August 24 this year.
Leo Banks was two years old when he died at his home in Chichester, West Sussex, in February 2020 after receiving special treatment for head injuries he sustained as a newborn in December 2017. Banks stated that Leo sobbed uncontrollably and appeared stressed during a feeding, which left Banks frustrated and tired. Leo's mother discovered her child was ill when she woke up in the morning and sought medical attention.

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