Victor Daicos, once considered as talented as his legendary brother Peter, met a tragic end alone in a prison cell. Born on September 10, 1967, Victor played for Collingwood Magpies' Under-19s in 1984, making 13 appearances and scoring 11 goals. Those who faced him claimed he was every bit as good as Peter, if not better.
A Life Overshadowed by Heroin
While Peter Daicos became a Collingwood icon, playing 250 games and earning the nickname 'Macedonian Marvel' for his supernatural goal-kicking, Victor's life took a dark turn. He struggled with heroin addiction and had a long criminal record, appearing in court over 30 times on approximately 170 charges between 1980 and his death.
Victor's last contact with his family was on Christmas Day 2021, a day also marked by the death of his sister from cancer. Just days later, he was arrested for burglary and remanded to Melbourne Assessment Prison, where he was placed in mandatory Covid isolation.
The Final Days
On January 2, 2022, Victor repeatedly raised alarms from his cell, complaining of rectal bleeding, dizziness, and heavy bleeding. Agency nurse Alison Geraghty assessed him but had no prior correctional health experience. Despite attempts to contact doctors, Victor was found unresponsive during a head count at 4:29 PM. CPR was performed, but he was declared dead at 5:18 PM.
The cause of death was determined as upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage secondary to a pyloric gastric ulcer, with diluted blood found in his cell's toilet. The inquest heard of his history of peptic ulcer disease and heroin use.
Only Victor's daughter Ebony attended the hearing. The inquest continues, shedding light on systemic failures in prison healthcare.
