A Melbourne man could walk out of jail in less than four years after being sentenced on Monday for killing his elderly mother and leaving her for dead on the kitchen floor.

Gordon Steven Ivankovic, 57, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after initially being charged with his mother Marija’s 2023 murder.

Her friends found the 81-year-old woman’s body in the kitchen of her Maribyrnong home, in Melbourne’s north-west.

They had come over expecting to spend the night playing cards together, but her son had killed her hours earlier.

Ivankovic went to visit his mother to help turn over a mattress at about 12.30pm on June 12, 2023, but ended up having an argument with her about clogged roof gutters that escalated into a fatal assault.

Over 16 minutes, Ivankovic grabbed and smothered his mother before leaving her to die on her kitchen floor. 

He had grabbed the elderly woman and placed pressure to her face and neck.

With time already served, Gordon Steven Ivankovic (pictured), who killed his mother, could be freed on parole in less than four

Marija Ivankovic’s friends found the 81-year-old’s body in the kitchen of her Maribyrnong home, in Melbourne’s north-west. Ms Ivankovic is pictured

He then fled without calling for help, leaving his mother’s friends to find her body five hours later.

Ivankovic’s sister tried calling him the day her mother was found dead but he did not return her contact for six days.

He returned to the crime scene the day after the killing, ducking under the crime tape to try to enter the family home.

He became irritated when he couldn’t go inside and said: ‘I need to know is everyone OK in there?’

Ivankovic also made several calls to his mother’s landline, leaving messages saying she should call him back. 

Ivankovic bought a train ticket to Sydney and then took a bus to Brisbane, arriving there on June 20.

On these journeys, he used the false names Steven Gordon and John Kovic.

He sought assistance from a homelessness organisation while in Queensland, which helped him to buy plane tickets to return to Melbourne.

Ivankovic’s sister Janine Staples (pictured) attended court for his sentence on Monday

Ivankovic was arrested on June 23 in South Yarra, charged with murder and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter after accepting a sentence indication.

Police attended the Maribyrnong property five times between 1993 and 2019 in response to incidents between Ivankovic and his mother, the court previously heard.

Janine Staples, Ivankovic’s sister who attended court for his sentence on Monday, previously told the court that ‘The loss of my mother has caused me unimaginable pain and grief.

‘I have suffered from recurring nightmares about what happened to her … the pain of her loss will stay with me forever’.

Justice Jane Dixon took into account Ivankovic’s difficult upbringing, mental health instability and drug addiction issues as she decided to jail him for a maximum of eight years.

He will be eligible for parole in five years, but with time served could be freed in less than four.

The judge accepted Ivankovic’s offending was spontaneous and unplanned, and he was experiencing shame and remorse for killing the only supporter in his life.

‘Despite frequent conflict in your relationship with your mother, she continued to love you and kept in close contact with you,’ Justice Dixon said. 

‘Your mother trusted you, was elderly and vulnerable, you assaulted her in her own home where she should’ve been safe …

‘She was an important person in your life, a support for you and you miss her. You are now without family support.’

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