Convicted murderer receiving taxpayer-funded weight-loss jabs behind bars

A convicted murderer who stabbed her housemate to death over a $50 debt has undergone eyelid surgery and is receiving taxpayer-funded weight loss medication while behind bars.

Alicia Schiller, who is serving a minimum 16-year sentence at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre in Melbourne, has been prescribed Ozempic and underwent surgery to remove excess eyelid skin linked to obesity.

The sister of victim Tyrelle Evertsen-Mostert, Miranda, said she was furious Schiller had received the treatment while serving her sentence.

“How is this punishment in any way?” she told A Current Affair.

Evertsen-Mostert, a mother of three, was stabbed to death inside her Geelong home in 2014 after Schiller discovered $50 had been taken from her room.

A jury found Schiller guilty of murder, and she was ordered to serve at least 16 years in prison.

Miranda said the pain of losing her sister had never eased, and had heavily impacted Evertsen-Mostert’s young children.

“The pain of the hurt, the trauma, it’s not something that they can just get over and live their life,” she said.

“Because they were so young, they had lesser life to reach, to live because of this major loss.”

She said learning that Schiller had undergone surgery and was receiving weight loss medication had reopened old wounds.

“Heartache, outrage, anger, frustration… Yep, a lot of emotions again,” she said.

“Where’s the entitlement? She’s supposed to be in jail for a crime.”

The Victorian government defended the treatment, saying the medications and surgery are approved only when medically necessary, while the state’s justice department added weight loss jabs are prescribed when there’s a clear medical need.

However, Miranda said the prospect of Schiller eventually becoming eligible for parole remains difficult for the family.

“We have to live with this for the rest of our lives,” she said.

Department of Justice and Community Safety statement

Semaglutides are only prescribed by clinicians where there is a clear medical need including to prevent serious conditions like type 2 diabetes.

Victorian government statement

These medications and surgeries are only approved by clinicians when medically necessary to treat serious health conditions, including type 2 diabetes.

Access to prescribed weight loss medication was introduced following a Coroner’s recommendation after a death in custody linked to obesity.

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