A lawyer whose lover fell from the top floor of a luxury hotel in Bali is demanding to see his correspondence with friends and family leading up to his tragic death.
asserted
lover → fall → death
Zagi Kozarov, 52, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday for a special mention as she faced stalking charges.
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she → appear → charges
Kozarov is being investigated by officers assisting a coronial investigation into the death of Geelong footy coach Zoran Vidovic.
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Kozarov → investigate → Vidovic
Kozarov had been holidaying with Mr Vidovic when he died after falling from a hotel balcony in Bali in January 2024.
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he → holiday → January
It remains unclear who Kozarov is accused of stalking, but it is understood to be a person closely linked to her late partner.
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it → remain → partner
Among a swag of documents, Kozarov's barrister Phillip Bloemen is hoping to secure an affidavit used to obtain a warrant to search Kozarov's home.
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barrister → hop → home
While police have already handed over 558 pages of SMS messages between Kozarov and Vidovic, the court heard she now wants texts and other communications between him and other people expected to be witnesses in the criminal case.
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she → hand → case
'This is classically a fishing expedition designed to drag the pool to see what else might be relevant to the accused's case, and it ought not be permitted,' barrister Ashleigh Harrold, acting for Victoria Police, said.
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Harrold → design → Police
Glamorous lawyer Zagi Kozarov is pictured outside the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday.
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Kozarov → picture → Monday
She faces stalking charges
Kozarov was seen outside court with lawyer Phillip Bloemen.
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Kozarov → face → Bloemen
It remains unclear who Kozarov is accused of stalking, but it is understood to be a person closely linked to her late partner
Kozarov was engaged to footy coach and father-of-two Zoran Vidovic (left), who fell to his death at a Bali hotel.
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who → remain → hotel
She spoke out after she was banned from the memorial service for him
She further claimed that many of the messages sought by Kozarov would be deeply personal and none of her business.
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many → speak → business
'The vast majority of whom are family members, daughters of Mr Vidovic and extremely close personal friends, are almost certain to contain exceedingly private communications, in the sense of perhaps matters that are private to those witnesses.
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that → contain → witnesses
One can only guess, really, based on our own personal relationships, the types of things that a daughter might say to their father, for instance,' Ms Harrold said.
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Harrold → guess → instance
At a previous hearing, the court heard that Kozarov was after 17 'different categories of documents'.
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Kozarov → hear → documents
The prosecution had provided 35-40 documents in response to a summons, but contested the release of others, setting the stage for Monday's hearing.
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prosecution → provide → hearing
Magistrate Stephen Lee, who will rule on the matter on Friday, expressed some concerns about the scope of Kozarov's requests.
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who → rule → requests
'You’re getting very remote, aren't you, at this point?' he asked.
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he → get → point
'You're speaking generalities with all due respect...
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You → speak → respect
Otherwise, you're fishing.'
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you → fish → ?
Mr Bloemen insisted the material was vital to his client's defence.
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material → insist → defence
Mr Bloemen (left) told the court there were 'layers of complexity that exist in this case that put it out of the norm', including the fact Kozarov was once awarded a $435,000 damages payout
At a previous hearing, the court heard Kozarov was after 17 'different categories of documents'
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Kozarov → tell → documents
Kozarov continues to act as a lawyer
'
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Kozarov → continue → lawyer
There is an intimate link between the pathways of these investigations,' he told the court.
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he → be → court
'Documents generated for that [coronial] proceeding will have substantial relevance to this proceeding.
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Documents → generate → proceeding
He claimed early briefing notes contained 'a series of assertions in quotation marks said to have arisen from a person who will be a central witness' and that witnesses would paint his client 'in an unkind light'.
The accused, he argued, needed the documents to challenge their credibility and explore 'the motivations of witnesses'.
The defence also sought the affidavit behind a search warrant - material normally protected - arguing there were unusual aspects to the investigation, including alleged privacy breaches and interactions with lawyers for people 'whose interests do not coincide with the accused'.
Mr Bloemen told the court there were 'layers of complexity that exist in this case that put it out of the norm', including the fact Kozarov was previously awarded a $435,000 damages payout for post-traumatic stress disorder she suffered as a result of working in the sex crimes unit for the Office of Public Prosecutions.
When pressed on whether he was alleging malice by police, Mr Bloemen took a step back.
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Bloemen → claim → step
'At its height... there are some unusual features of this case and some notes and timings of events which give rise to concerns,' he said.
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he → be → concerns
Kozarov says she and Mr Vidovic (pictured) had discussed wedding plans before his death
Kozarov had desperately tried to save Mr Vidovic, 53, as he teetered on the edge of a top-floor restaurant terrace at the Apurva Kempinski Hotel in Sawangan, Nusa Dua
Kozarov had desperately tried to save Mr Vidovic, 53, as he teetered on the edge of a top-floor restaurant terrace at the Apurva Kempinski Hotel in Sawangan, Nusa Dua.
She was unable to hold onto him and he plunged eight metres into a garden bed below, suffering serious injuries and later dying after hotel staff transported him to hospital in the back of a car.
'I looked into his eyes and told him I loved him, and tried to pull him back,' Kozarov previously told the Daily Mail, weeping as she relived the incident.
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she → say → incident
'But I'm only 5'3 - I couldn't pull him over the glass barrier.
'
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I → pull → barrier
I was surrounded by around 15 to 20 men - but they weren't doing anything.
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they → surround → anything
They were just talking on their walkie-talkies.
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They → talk → talkies
They could have saved him but no one did anything to help me.
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one → save → me
No one was trying to pull him to safety.'
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one → try → safety
Mr Vidovic's body was flown back to Australia after the January 28 tragedy, and a service was held in his memory at GHMBA Stadium in his hometown of Geelong, Victoria, the following month.
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service → fly → Geelong
However, Kozarov said she was stopped from joining hundreds of friends and family members who packed out the stadium's huge social room to farewell him.
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who → say → him
Mr Vidovic died after falling eight metres from the terrace of the Bai Yun restaurant at the Apurva Kempinski Hotel (pictured) at about 7.30pm on January 28, 2024
Mr Vidovic's daughters Lulu (left) and Bella (right) both spoke at their father's memorial service, where he was remembered as an 'incredible father, son, brother, uncle and friend'
Ms Kozarov hosted her own memorial service for Mr Vidovic in the company of her children and other members of her family.
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Kozarov → die → family
She released doves 'for his soul' (above)
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She → release → soul
The pair had been in a relationship for four years at the time of his death, and were making wedding plans after Mr Vidovic presented Kozarov with a ring just before they flew out to Bali for the three-week stay at the five-star resort.
But she claimed she had been shunned and silenced by Mr Vidovic's ex-wife and family.
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she → make → wife
In March 2024, Kozarov told the Mail she had been asked by her partner's family not to attend his memorial.
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she → tell → memorial
'I was firmly warned by his family that I was to stay away,' she said then.
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she → warn → family
…and 15 more, not listed.
The Aporia
