Ivona Jovanovic (pictured) was shot dead at a home on the Gold Coast
The sister of a woman who was shot dead at her ex-boyfriend’s home said she would ‘give anything’ to have her back.
Ivona Jovanovic, 27, was with a group of up to five people at a house in Labrador on the Gold Coast at 8.30pm on Sunday when she was shot in the chest.
She died at Gold Coast University Hospital after the people she was with allegedly called an ambulance and fled the scene.
Ms Jovanovic’s former boyfriend, alleged bikie associate Christos Panagakos, returned to the home at 1am where he was arrested and questioned before being released without charge.
There is no suggestion Panagakos was involved in his ex’s death and he claims they remained good friends after they separated.
Panagakos is known to police as an alleged associate of the Barbaro underworld family and the Mongols bikie gang – and had previously been jailed on drug and weapons charges in 2016.
Police said they don’t believe the shooting is bikie-related, nor do they think it was a domestic violence incident, and may instead have been a tragic accident.
Ms Jovanovic’s younger sister, Annette, paid tribute to the ‘beautiful woman’, saying those involved could ‘run but they won’t get far’.
Ms Jovanovic’s younger sister, Annette (pictured right with her sister, left), paid tribute to the ‘beautiful woman’, saying those involved could ‘run but they won’t get far’
Ms Jovanovic’s (left) former housemate and close friend Kate Szepanowski (right) said she was shocked something like this could happen to ‘the sweetest girl ever’
She went on to say the loss to the entire family has been enormous and shocked them all.
‘I would do anything in the world to have you back in our lives,’ she wrote. ‘Its been two nights and I haven’t been able to sleep.
‘Mama and Tata are destroyed… the puppies are wondering where their big sister is.’
Annette apologised to her sister for her last moments, in which she was alone and ‘no one was there to at least try to give you a chance of being reunited with us’.
‘She did not have a chance to survive,’ Annette wrote on a GoFundMe page which has been set up to alleviate the burden of paying for a funeral. It has already raised more than $17,000.
Annette, as well as a host of other friends, said the incident was ‘the biggest shock to us’.
‘You never deserved any of this… I love you so much and its going to be really hard coming to terms with never seeing you anymore,’ Annetta said.
Annette (left) apologised to her sister (right) for her last moments, in which she was alone and ‘no one was there to at least try to give you a chance of being reunited with us’
‘I promise I will take care of Mama and Tata as I know you’d be worried about their health.’
Jovanovic (pictured) is believed to have been shot with a licensed hand gun, which has yet to be found
Ms Jovanovic’s former housemate and close friend said she was shocked something like this could happen to ‘the sweetest girl ever’.
‘I am so angry I want to scream out loud,’ Instagram sensation Kate Szepanowski said.
‘I just want to write to the world and tell everyone how amazing you were. You were so sweet and funny and quirky and your laugh was just one of a kind.’
The girls had made plans to catch up later in the week after living together for six years.
Detective Acting Superintendent Brendan Smith said police are not yet sure what the motive behind the shooting was, and have not yet ruled out the possibility that it was an accident.
‘This is a clear example of where things go wrong,’ Superintendent Smith said.
‘We certainly don’t believe there’s any suggestion that it’s bikie-related but the people who are involved have got links to clubs.’
Ms Jovanovic is believed to have been shot with a licensed hand gun, which has not yet been found.
Christos Panagakos (pictured) has been arrested and is being questioned by detectives after the death of his ex-partner Ivona Jovanovic
Police are appealing for the other people who were there on the night Jovanovic was shot to come forward.
‘While they called the ambulance, there’s a lot of first-aid that could have been rendered at the time that may or may not have made a difference,’ Superintendent Smith said.
Allaina Vader, the girlfriend of ex-Hells Angel bikie Ben Geppert also paid tribute to Ms Jovanovic, citing the month as ‘the worst of her life’.
Her boyfriend’s younger brother was also killed after he was stabbed to death in a park.
‘So sad to hear about your death,’ she wrote.
‘Absolutely horrific and I can’t believe it. Fly high angel.
‘This is the worst month of my life. What is happening? I was just speaking to you. My heart is already hurting, now this.’
Ms Jovanovic’s Facebook bio read: ‘Sometimes bad things happen to good people.’
Just hours before her death she posted an Instagram story of her in a car and then enjoying the sunset by the sea with her bulldog.
‘I just love you a million Meatball,’ the caption read.
Allaina Vader (right), the girlfriend of ex-Hells Angel enforcer Ben Geppert (left), mourned the loss of an ‘angel’ online. Dozens of other Instagram influencers also posted tributes as well