Israeli woman, 21, killed in Australia while in street on phone to sister
Police investigate after La Trobe University student Aiia Maasarwe was attacked in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora
Australian police are looking for at least one attacker who killed an Israeli woman as she was walking on a city street speaking to her sister on the phone.
Aiia Maasarwe, a 21-year-old student who had been studying at La Trobe University in the city of Melbourne, was killed at 12.10am local time on Wednesday shortly after she got off a tram in the suburb of Bundoora, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said.
Ms Maasarwe was having a conversation with her sister when she was attacked on her way home from a comedy club, Mr Stamper said.
The sister “heard the sound of the phone falling to the ground, she heard some voices and that was it”, he said.
The family alerted police at around the same time that Ms Maasarwe’s body was found at 7am on Wednesday near the tram stop.
Police believe the attack was random and opportunistic.
“Out of respect to the family, we’re not going into details of injuries and the nature of the assault,” Mr Stamper said.
“This was an absolutely horrendous, horrific attack inflicted on a completely innocent young woman who was a visitor to our city,” he added.
Ms Maasarwe’s bag was split open and some of its contents were removed, Mr Stamper said.
Police also recovered a black baseball cap and a grey and black T-shirt that they suspect an assailant discarded after the attack.
The victim’s uncle, Abed Katane, told Israel’s Haaretz newspaper that Ms Maasarwe had been studying at Shanghai University and had spent recent months in Melbourne on a study-abroad programme.
Her father had left Israel for Melbourne in a bid to co-ordinate her body’s return home, Mr Katane told the newspaper.
Victoria state health minister Jenny Mikakos said there would be an increased police presence in Bundoora, which is frequented by students, to reassure the community during the investigation.
“It is a terrible tragedy,” Ms Mikakos, who lives in the Bundoora area, told reporters.
“As a government, we will do whatever is required to support this woman’s family and friends and I extend my sympathy to her family and friends at this terrible, terrible time,” she added.
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