She Slept Beside Her Dead Husband for 14 Months
A shocking family tragedy involving a Croatian expat in Australia: Nikola Golem sentenced to nine years in prison for deceiving his mother about her husband's death.
A shocking family tragedy involving a Croatian expat in Australia: Nikola Golem sentenced to nine years in prison for deceiving his mother about her husband's death.
Disturbing details of a family tragedy that unfolded over years in the home of a Croatian immigrant in Australia have come to light after a Queensland court sentenced Nikola Golem to nine years in prison. Golem hid the death of his stepfather, 69-year-old Tomislav Nemes, for over a year, lying to his mother, who lived and slept beside his decomposing body the entire time.
In April 2023, following a call from Nemes's daughter, police discovered mummified remains in the family home in the Benowa neighborhood of the Gold Coast. The investigation revealed that Golem and his mother, Dragica Nemes, had lived in that house with the dead body for a full 14 months.
Judge Rebecca Treston did not hide her disgust during the sentencing in mid-July 2026. "They simply let him rot. What happened after his death is truly hard to comprehend," the judge stated.
The court heard that Golem told his mother Dragica, described as a psychologically unstable and fragile woman for whom English was not her first language, that doctors recommended rest and herbal remedies for her husband. "You seriously misled your mother. You knew he was dead. Because of that, your mother continued to sleep beside her husband's dead body until the smell of his decomposing body became too strong," the judge told Golem.
Tomislav Nemes, who arrived in Australia from Croatia at just 15 and became a successful businessman, was completely cut off from the rest of the family. Golem took away his phone after he started investing money. His daughter Suzanna Belijanski did not know where her father was for years. "For years, I didn't know where he was. I only found out by chance when my sister ran into a relative," she recounted in court.
When she finally reached the house, Golem and his mother aggressively drove her away. "I was told a series of lies. They said Dad had been taken to PA Hospital and was there under a false name because someone was after him. I called hospitals and asked around, but no one had him on record, because all along he was lying in his own bed, dead for 14 months," Belijanski said. She also mentioned that on police footage she saw Golem and Dragica cooking, "as if my dad wasn't lying dead and decomposing in the next room." It took police four days after her report to check the situation at the house.
Tomislav Nemes and his wife were active Jehovah's Witnesses and, starting in 2020, began refusing Western medicine and treatment, avoiding contact with doctors. This was a particular problem for Nemes, who suffered from diabetes, back pain, and hypertension. After a fall in 2021, he became bedridden.
Golem's lawyer, Martin Longhurst, claimed his client loved his stepfather and "sincerely regrets" his actions. As mitigating circumstances, he noted that Golem suffered a severe brain injury in a car accident at eight months old and has an IQ of only 70. Golem pleaded guilty to manslaughter and interference with a decent burial. Given the time already served in custody, he will become eligible for parole in August 2026.
Another of Nemes's daughters, Elizabeth Marzano, tearfully spoke in court about the father she lost in an unimaginable way. "My father was so much more than the circumstances that brought us before this court today. A man who worked his whole life to create opportunities for the people he loved," she said. She added that she had always believed her father was enjoying a well-deserved retirement, unaware that he had been left to die without medical care.
