Aiia Maasarwe murder: Israeli woman killed in Melbourne after being followed home from night out
She was on a call to her sister when attack took place, police say
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An Israeli woman who was killed in the Australian city of Melbourne had been on the telephone to her sister when she was followed from public transport and attacked close to the university where she was studying, police said on Thursday.
The body of Aiia Maasarwe, 21, was found by passers-by early on Wednesday near La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus in the northeast of Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city. Police described her as an Israeli national.
“This is an horrendous crime that has been inflicted on an innocent member of our community,” Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper told a news briefing on Thursday.
“Our presumption is that this was a random attack and opportunistic,” he said.
It was the second time in seven months that a young woman had been killed on her way home at night in Melbourne, which has an active night life and is popular with overseas university students.
Police said Ms Maasarwe had taken a tram home after an evening out seeing a comedy show. She had been speaking with her sister on the phone at the time of the attack and her sister alerted authorities, Mr Stamper said.
“She heard the sound of the fall, the phone falling to the ground and heard some voices and that was it,” he added.
Family members arrived from Israel on Thursday.
Ms Maasarwe had been in Melbourne on a six-month study abroad programme as part of a degree at Shanghai University.
Police said forensic testing was being conducted on two pieces of clothing found nearby that they believe was likely to have been left by the person responsible for her death.
In June, 22-year-old Eurydice Dixon was followed as she walked home from performing at a Melbourne comedy club before she was sexually assaulted and killed in a central park.
Dixon’s death provoked an outpouring of grief, with more than 5,000 people attending a vigil at the park, and a wider push by police to acknowledge that women should be free to come home alone late at night and be safe.
More broadly, Australia has been reviewing its policies around violence against women. Sixty-nine women died violently in Australia in 2018, up from 54 in 2017, according to community group Destroy the Joint.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments