A young woman found dead on a soccer pitch has been identified as an aspiring comedian.
Eurydice Dixon, 22, was on her way home from a performance early on Wednesday morning when she was allegedly raped and murdered.
A teenager handed himself in to police hours later, and was charged over the alleged rape and murder of Ms Dixon.
The 19-year-old man, who police said did not know Ms Dixon, surrendered himself at Broadmeadows Police Station after CCTV images were released by police.
Ms Dixon’s body was found in Princes Park in Carlton North, inner Melbourne, about 3am on Wednesday.
A young woman found dead on a soccer pitch has been identified as aspiring comedian Eurydice Dixon (pictured)
A teenager handed himself in to police hours later, and was charged over the alleged rape and murder of Ms Dixon (pictured)
The 19-year-old man, who police said did not know Ms Dixon (pictured), surrendered himself at Broadmeadows Police Station after CCTV images were released by police
The man was arrested at Broadmeadows Police Station after CCTV images were released by police
The accused was remanded in custody after being charged with one count of rape and one count of murder, and will face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning (pictured is a CCTV image released by police)
A teenager has handed himself in to police over the alleged rape and murder of a woman who was found dead on a soccer pitch. Pictured: The 19-year-old arriving at court
Pictured is the body being removed from the park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North
Police are treating the death as suspicious, and homicide detectives are combing the park in the inner Melbourne suburb of Carlton North (pictured is the scene)
The accused was remanded in custody after being charged with one count of rape and one count of murder, and will face Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday.
Detectives drove the man, dressed in a black leather jacket and denim jeans, to the courthouse shortly after 10am.
The man handed himself in after CCTV images were released of a person who police said could assist with the investigation, Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said.
Detective Inspector Stamper confirmed there was no relationship between the alleged victim and the accused.
The community and the media played vital roles in helping police arrest the suspect, Detective Inspector Stamper said, and made a fresh appeal for public assistance.
‘If there are members of the public who have footage from dashcams and CCTV, call Crime Stoppers, we really need to get that information,’ he said.
The man (pictured) handed himself in after CCTV images were released of a person who police said could assist with the investigation
Detective Inspector Stamper confirmed there was no relationship between the alleged victim and the accused (pictured)
The body of the woman was found on a Princes Park soccer pitch, less than a kilometre away from a March 28 sexual assault
Flowers are seen where a woman’s body was found, in Carlton, Melbourne, on Wednesday
Police also said they are confident there is no link between the alleged murder and a late-night sexual assault in the same park in March.
‘At this stage we believe the two matters are unrelated, however, there is still a lot of investigation to go on,’ he said.
‘We are satisfied at the moment that the two aren’t connected which leaves us with the prospect that there is an outstanding offender for that offence.’
The woman is yet to be formally identified, as police said they are still dealing with her family.
Police said the release of CCTV images on Wednesday led to the 19-year-old handing himself in at Broadmeadows, in the city’s north-west.
Police are yet to formally identify the body of a woman found on a soccer field in Melbourne
The body of a woman in her 20s was found on a soccer pitch in the middle of a popular park (pictured is the scene)
The images showed a man wearing a grey hoodie and a backpack leaning against a pole on the morning the body was found.
The images were captured in Melbourne’s central business district, but police did not say when they were taken.
Homicide detectives locked down the area after the body was found at 3am on Wednesday morning, with police turning morning joggers away from the park.
A pair of men’s black leather shoes were found metres from the body, and police examined a bicycle and a bag, but it is unknown whether the items are linked to the alleged murder.
Victoria Police said the body was discovered by a passerby, and paramedics were unable to revive the woman.
The body was found on a soccer pitch located between Royal Parade and Princes Park Drive.
Months before the alleged murder another woman, ‘Jessie’ (pictured), was sexually assaulted by a man at about 2.35am in Parkville less than a kilometre from where the body was found
Police believe the woman was murdered between 11pm on Tuesday and 3am the next day, Detective Inspector Stamper said.
In response to concerns about public safety in the park police promised a visible presence and round-the-clock patrols.
Locals left floral tributes at the scene, some expressing shock over the alleged murder, others complaining street lights in the park were almost never turned on.
The alleged murder comes after the sexual assault of an American woman, 21, who was attacked less than a kilometre away on March 28.
‘Jessie’ said she walking on Gatehouse Street, Parkville, at 2.35am when she was grabbed in a bear hug, dragged to the ground and sexually assaulted.
The attacker, described as being between 25 and 35 years old with a muscular build, average height and olive skin, tried to cover her mouth when she screamed.
The body was found on a soccer pitch located between Royal Parade and Princes Park Drive
The Washington DC woman, who was in Melbourne for work, said the attacker tried to cover her mouth while he groped her neck, face and body.
‘It felt like a big force pushed me to the ground, there was a lot of force. Very quickly he got on top of me … hitting me, punching me, kicking me,’ Jessie recalled.
She relived the ordeal in a press conference which has been scheduled in advance for Wednesday.
The timing of the press conference and the proximity to Wednesday’s alleged murder led to speculation the attacks were linked.
‘For operational reasons a decision was made to do that media release [on the previous sexual assault] yesterday … [it] was already booked in before that incident [the alleged murder] happened,’ said Detective Inspector Stamper.
‘We just believe at the moment that was a coincidence.’
Detective Inspector Stamper said police were keeping an ‘open mind’ on possible links between the two attacks, despite being confident they are not connected.
Victoria Police said the body was discovered shortly before 3am by a passerby, and paramedics were unable to revive the woman (pictured are police at the scene)
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