Chilling footage has revealed the final moments of an Israeli student before she was murdered in a ‘horrific, horrendous’ attack in Melbourne.
Aya Masarwe’s partially naked body was found by window washers in scrub near Melbourne’s Polaris shopping centre in Bundoora at 7am on Wednesday.
Police believe a t-shirt and cap found near where the body of the 21-year-old student was discovered belong to her killer.
They are also investigating whether she was raped, but would not describe her injuries other than saying that the attack shortly after midnight was utterly brutal.
Police believe Miss Masarwe was at a club in North Melbourne earlier on Tuesday night and caught the 86 tram from a Bourke Street stop
Aya Masarwe (pictured) has been identified as the young woman whose body was found outside a Melbourne shopping centre on Wednesday
Aya Masarwe’s (left, with a friend) partially naked body was found by window washers in scrub outside the Polaris shopping centre on Main Drive near Plenty Road in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora at 7am on Wednesday
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said it was believed to be a ‘random attack’.
‘This was a horrendous, horrific attack inflicted on a completely innocent young woman who was a visitor to our city.’
Police believe Miss Masarwe was at a club in North Melbourne earlier on Tuesday night and caught the 86 tram from a Bourke Street stop.
Miss Masarwe likely got off the tram in Bundoora near where her body was found. She was about a kilometre from her home.
Homicide detectives have released CCTV images of Miss Masarwe, which shows the clothing she was wearing that night, in the hope someone saw her on the night and can help police track her exact movements.
Homicide detectives have released CCTV images of Miss Masarwe, which shows the clothing she was wearing that night, in the hope someone saw her on the night and can help police track her exact movements
Investigators have also released images of a t-shirt and a cap that were located at the scene.
The t-shirt is described as being dark coloured on the shoulders and sleeves, then a light grey in the body.
The cap is black in colour and has ‘1986’ printed on the front.
Detective Inspector Stamper said information from the public is likely to prove crucial in this investigation.
‘There will be someone out there who has seen a person wearing this clothing, and we really need them to come forward and provide us with that information,’ he said.
Police have released images of a t-shirt and cap found at the scene, which they believe belongs to the killer
The t-shirt is described as being dark coloured on the shoulders and sleeves, then a light grey in the body. The cap is black in colour and has ‘1986’ printed on the front
‘If you have information about the identity of this person then I urge you to tell us.
‘We have a grieving family who has had to fly halfway across the world under the most horrific circumstances and we want to be able to give them some answers.’
Forensic testing is being conducted on the clothing and police believe it is likely to have been left there by Miss Masarwe’s killer.
Anyone who recognises the clothing or has seen anyone wearing the items recently, particularly in the Bundoora area are being urged to contact the police.
Police are also keen to speak to anyone who has located any unusual or out of place items near the crime scene over the past 48 hours.
Miss Masarwe was walking home from a comedy show on Tuesday night, speaking with her sister on FaceTime, when the phone suddenly dropped, her uncle Rame Masarwe said.
Ms Masarwe had been studying Chinese and English at Shanghai University, but has spent the past six months in Melbourne studying at La Trobe University
Ms Masarwe’s uncle Rame Masarwe said his family were shocked by her death as they believed Australia was safe
‘She seemed very happy. Then the phone fell down, she heard voices. The phone was on.’
He said her sister was still on the phone when she was attacked and heard the entire ordeal unfold.
Shoes and a mobile phone were found near Ms Masarwe’s body, as well as an abandoned vehicle on Main Drive with its hazard lights on.
Ms Masarwe’s uncle said his brother had just arrived in Melbourne and remained in the dark about what had happened to his daughter.
‘He’s just arrived there now and knows nothing,’ he said.
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper (pictured) said it was apparent the young woman had been assaulted
‘We were told that she got murdered and it happened yesterday…that she was on the tram and that somebody attacked her. We’ve just been watching the news.’
The family are distraught, as they believed Australia was safe.
‘We can’t believe something like that can happen in Australia,’ Mr Masarwe told Daily Mail Australia. ‘It’s crazy.’
‘(Her parents) are very angry of course. They are very mad,’ Mr Masarwe said. ‘This is not America or Europe, you know.’
Ms Masarwe had planned to stay in Melbourne for at least a year, he said.
Her dad was due to visit her next week, he added.
Miss Masarwe had been studying Chinese and English at Shanghai University, but moved to Melbourne six months ago to study abroad at La Trobe University.
CCTV is expected to become the main focus of the investigation as police work to piece together Ms Masarwe’s final movements (pictured is the scene)
The murder has chilling similarities to the brutal killings of Eurydice Dixon and Jill Meagher, who were both raped and murdered while walking home in Melbourne suburbs.
Dixon was raped and killed on her way home from a comedy show in June last year. Her body was found on a soccer field in Princes Park in Carlton North.
Jill Meagher, 29, was raped and killed by serial sex offender Adrian Ernest Bayley.
There will be increased police patrols and presence in the Bundoora area by police from the North West Metro Region, along with members of the Transit Safety Division and Operations Response Unit.
Acting Superintendent Tony Ryan from North West Metro said he understood the community was shocked and concerned following Miss Masarwe’s death.
‘I can assure the community that police will have an increased presence in the area over the coming days and we’ll also be liaising with local residents and organisations,’ he said.