Chilean backpacker, 26, vows to return to Far North Queensland despite being ‘stabbed in the neck by cleaner at her hostel’ just 10 days after arriving in Australia
- Chilean backpacker had planned to work in Australia on a working holiday visa
- She is lucky to be alive after she was stabbed in the neck in Cairns last week
- Constanza ‘Kuki’ Escudero, 26, had been in Australia for ten days when attacked
- Police say she’s lucky to be alive as the knife missed major artery by millimeters
- She is now preparing to return to Chile soon but hopes to return to Australia
A Chilean backpacker has vowed to return to Australia despite allegedly being stabbed in the neck by a cleaner at her hostel.
Constanza ‘Kuki’ Escudero was forced to cut her dream holiday short after an 8cm knife was plunged into her neck at Gecko’s Backpackers Resort in Cairns last week.
And after being stuck in hospital recovering from her injury for more than a week, the 26-year-old is now preparing to return home to South America.
However, despite the horrific attack, the Chilean backpacker hopes to return to Australia one day to fulfill her dream.
Just ten days into her Australian holiday, Constanza ‘Kuki’ Escudero (pictured) was allegedly stabbed in the neck in broad daylight at Gecko’s Backpackers Resort in Cairns
The 26-year-old backpacker was in the kitchen of the inner-city hostel about 11am on Monday when the cleaner allegedly grabbed the knife from the communal kitchen
‘I would like to come back,’ she told the Cairns Post.
Ms Escudero has a working holiday visa and had planned to find a fruit picking or hospitality job in Australia with her friend and travel companion 26-year-old Marisol Fernandez.
The well-travelled pair had only been in Australia for ten days, and Cairns for three days, when the attack occurred.
Ms Escudero had been in the kitchen of the inner-city hostel about 11am on Monday last week when the cleaner allegedly grabbed the knife from the communal kitchen.
A pair of nurses, who were also staying at the hostel, rushed to help her and provide first aid before she was taken to Cairns Hospital.
Ms Fernandez remained by her side in hospital, as her father made his way over from Chile.
The trio are now planning to return to Chile this weekend.
The alleged offender, Northern Territory man Raynard Gregory Moodonuthi, 36, fled the scene but was arrested a short time later and charged with attempted murder and common assault.
Ms Escudero underwent surgery on Tuesday and remains in a stable condition in Cairns Hospital
Ms Escudero was staying at Gecko’s Backpackers in Cairns (pictured) when the cleaner allegedly stabbed her in the kitchen
Cairns Police Detective Sergeant Brad McLeish said Ms Escudero was lucky to be alive.
‘These two NSW nurses, who were up here on holiday, saw the victim running from the scene and gave first aid despite the risk to themselves with the alleged offender still in the vicinity,’ he said.
Detective Senior Sergeant Ed Kinbacher told reporters the 26-year-old backpacker’s injuries were severe.
He also said her survival was a ‘pure fluke’ as major arteries in her neck were missed by ‘mere millimetres’.
Her best friend and travel companion, 26-year-old Marisol Fernandez (pictured), has remained by her side in hospital
‘It just merely — by mere millimetres — missed the major arteries that were in the area,’ he said.
Det Sgt Kinbacher said the victim and the alleged attacker were not known to each other.
‘This is an awful offence — a young woman who just arrived in Cairns, here to enjoy what this community offers, and within a short period of time — no fault of her own — she’s finding herself with a life-threatening injury through a stupid act of violence,’ he said.
The 26-year-old backpacker was in the kitchen of the inner-city hostel (pictured) about 11am on Monday when the cleaner allegedly grabbed the knife from the communal kitchen