Victorian Corrections Minister Enver Ergogan has apologised to the family of a murder victim after they were not told her killer had been let out of prison on day release.

Adriana Donato, 20, was stabbed to death with a hunting knife by her ex-boyfriend James Stoneham in 2012.

Stoneham had researched how to murder Adriana before luring her to a park and stabbing her.

He was sentenced to 19 years’ jail, with a minimum non-parole period of 14½ years in November 2013. 

Donato and her family only found out when a relative said they thought they had seen Stoneham at a local shopping strip near the family home.

In a statement this morning, Erdogan said he was sorry for the error.

“We extend our deepest sympathies to Ms Donato for what has occurred,” Erdogan said in the statement. 

“This is an appalling error and it is completely unacceptable. Corrections Victoria have updated their processes to ensure this can never happen again.”

Donato told The Age she was initially sceptical that Stoneham was out in the community.

“I didn’t believe he could be out in the community. We dismissed [the relative] – we thought she was being ridiculous,” Donato said.

Adriana was set to graduate from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Science when she was killed with a single stab wound to her neck by Stoneham at Riverside Park, in Melbourne’s north-west.

Stoneham, who was adopted from Sri Lanka in 1991 when he was only eight weeks old, had been suffering major mental illness with psychotic features when he killed Donato, his defence team argued.