The mother of a 19-year-old girl stabbed to death during a wild apartment brawl has paid tribute to her ‘happy and lovely’ daughter as her cousin demands justice.
Kenyan-born Laa Chol was killed when a group of young African-Australians crashed a party at a rental flat in Melbourne at 5am on Saturday.
Her shattered mother Ojwanga Abalo said the teenager ‘loved everyone,’ adding: ‘I miss my daughter’.
Kenyan-born Laa Chol (pictured) was killed in a brawl when a gang of young African-Australians crashed a party in Melbourne on Friday night
Miss Chol’s mother Ojwanga Abalo (left) said she ‘loved everyone,’ adding: ‘I miss my daughter.’ Right: Miss Chol
‘Just whenever you saw her, it was a happy moment. There were no sad moments,’ she told the Herald Sun.
‘She helped me with everything… I don’t know what I’m going to do without her,’ she added.
Ms Abalo said she hoped police would catch her daughter’s ‘cowardly’ killer.
Miss Chol’s cousin Nyawie Dau, who moved with her to Australia in 2005, also urged police to find the culprits and lock them up.
‘We need justice for Laa. They need to find whoever did this,’ Miss Dau said.
Miss Chol, a talented soccer player, was due to take the field on Sunday night for local team Skye United in a crunch match against Monbulk Rangers.
Neighbours heard wailing coming from her home in Pakenham, south-east Melbourne as family and friends struggled to come to terms with her death.
Tragic: Laa Chol, 19, was stabbed to death by a gatecrasher inside a Melbourne apartment
Friends have remembered Laa Chol, 19, as a quiet person as they grieve her violent death on Saturday morning
Miss Chol was partying at a $125-a-night apartment on the 56th floor of a block with a group of young African-Australians in their late teens and early 20s.
A second group crashed the party and a fight broke out, leading to Miss Chol’s stabbing around 5am.
A police spokesman said detectives ‘do not believe the second group was invited by either the person who booked the apartment, or the deceased.’
About 12 people are assisting police with their inquiries.
Miss Chol died from what Victoria Police Commander Tim Hansen called ‘assault related injuries’.
‘My understanding is this wasn’t a random attack,’ he told reporters.
‘There’s no sign of forced entry but we’re trying to clarify what brought [the second group] there.’
It is understood Ms Chol was attending a party at the EQ Tower (pictured) on A’Beckett Street when a second group crashed the event
Ms Chol died after a fight broke out between two groups of African-Australians in the early hours of Saturday morning in Melbourne’s city centre
Victoria has a ‘major law and order problem’ with Sudanese gangs, Peter Dutton (pictured) has said
Miss Chol, who worked part-time at KFC, was treated at the EQ Tower residential building by paramedics but died from her injuries.
A resident of the apartment building told the Herald Sun she heard prolonged and ‘horrendous’ screams.
‘It went on for about 20 minutes,’ the woman said.
‘You couldn’t hear anything but this horrendous screaming… I just thought they were drunk.
‘They were shouting and screaming and the girl’s scream was incredibly loud … just screeching.’
It comes after the Homes Affairs Minister released a statement calling for a crackdown on Sudanese gangs in the wake of the death.
‘This is a tragic and needless loss of a young life,’ he said.
‘There is a major law and order problem in Victoria and more people are going to be hurt until the rule of law is enforced by the Victorian Government.
‘We don’t have these problems with Sudanese gangs in NSW or Queensland.’
Mr Dutton accused Victorian Premier Dan Andrews of failing to acknowledge the issue of Sudanese gangs.
‘He is out of touch and more people will get hurt or worse until the problem is fixed,’ he said.
He urged Mr Andrews to change Victoria’s bail laws which he described as ‘pathetic.’
Miss Chol, who worked part-time in KFC and played women’s soccer for a local team, was treated at the EQ Tower residential building by paramedics but died from her injuries