Victor Daicos was every bit as talented as his footy legend brother Peter, but his journey down a dark path ended with his lonely death in a prison cell.
Born on September 10, 1967, Victor played for the Collingwood Magpies’ Under-19s side in 1984, making 13 appearances and kicking 11 goals that season.
Those who played against him back then claimed he was every inch as good as his older brother Peter – if not better.
Peter Daicos played his entire 250-game professional career with the Magpies and was renowned for his supernatural goal-kicking ability from impossible angles.
His freakish skills earned him the nickname the ‘Macedonian Marvel’, with his sons Nick and Josh continuing to excite a new generation of Collingwood fans.
The last time they saw their uncle Victor was on Christmas Day 2021.
It had been a shocking time for the family, with Nick later opening up about losing his aunt to cancer that very same day.
Victor would die alone in a Melbourne Assessment Prison cell on January 2 the following year while locked up during the Covid pandemic.
Collingwood legend Peter Daicos and his brother Victor (centre) are pictured in happier times
The 54-year-old, described in court as a talented AFL and cricket player in his youth, had a long and troubled history with the law – and heroin.
His death is the subject of a coronial inquest, which is taking place this week in Melbourne.
As the inquest opened, the court heard that Victor first came to the attention of police as a teenager and became more than familiar with the inside of a jail cell over the course of his life.
Between 1980 and the time of his death, he appeared before the courts more than 30 times on approximately 170 charges.
He was first sentenced to jail in September 1994 – four years after his older brother cemented himself as an all-time Collingwood legend when the Pies took home the AFL premiership cup.
His most recent sentence before the fatal stint in jail was handed down on May 7, 2020.
Daicos had been released at the end of June, but was back in hot water again before too long.
Just days after that miserable Christmas in 2021, he was arrested once more.
Victor Daicos (pictured) was regarded as a brilliant footballer in his youth, but heroin destroyed his life
Cops claimed they had caught Victor red-handed in the process of committing a burglary.
He was remanded in custody and placed in a mandatory Covid isolation quarantine unit at Melbourne Assessment Prison after appearing in court via video link.
The court heard Victor had complained of chest pain on the day of his arrest.
An ambulance attended, but he remained behind bars.
On January 2, the day he died, he repeatedly raised alarms from his cell.
Victor reported rectal bleeding and feeling dizzy.
‘He reported that he had felt dizzy, like his legs were going to give way on him,’ counsel assisting the coroner Abbie Roodenburg told the inquest.
Later, he used the intercom to complain of ‘heavy, heavy bleeding just now when he went to the toilet’.
Agency nurse Alison Geraghty – the first tearful witness to be called in the inquest – had assessed him.
Peter Daicos (pictured) was known as the ‘Macedonian Marvel’ during his playing days due to his freakish football skills
Peter and son Nick Daicos. Nick is regarded as one of the best AFL footballers playing the game
On Monday she was granted an indemnity certificate by Coroner Catherine Fitzgerald on the grounds that her evidence might lead to her being liable to a civil penalty under Australian health practitioner regulations.
The court heard Ms Geraghty had no prior experience in correctional health and claimed she was provided practically no training upon gaining employment within the jail.
With no on-site doctors available, she had been the last health professional to see Victor before he was found unresponsive.
The court heard Victor had been seen for chest pain in the afternoon.
While attempts were made to contact doctors, he was found unresponsive during a head count at about 4.29pm.
Prison officers performed CPR before paramedics took over, but he was declared dead at 5.18pm.
A forensic pathologist later determined his cause of death as ‘upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage, secondary to pyloric gastric ulcer.’
Diluted blood had been observed in the toilet bowl in his cell.
The inquest heard Victor had a known history of peptic ulcer disease and heroin use.
Only Victor’s daughter Ebony was in court for Monday’s hearing.
The inquest continues.
