A young homeless woman whose body was found in a Melbourne park after being viciously bashed had tried to phone her ex-boyfriend in the hours before she died.
Courtney Herron, 25, tried to phone her ex-boyfriend Terrick Edwards on Friday but he missed the call and is now distraught he missed an opportunity to help the young woman, his sister Nindara Edwards Norris told The Age.
Ms Norris said her brother was upset ‘for not being able to offer her a safe place for the night.’
‘Our families are all still in shock and my brother is struggling to process this as he missed her call Friday and now feels so terrible,’ she said.
Ms Herron’s body was found by dogwalkers at Royal Park in Parkville about 9.30 on Saturday morning.
Courtney Herron (left), 25, tried to phone her ex-boyfriend Terrick Edwards on Friday but he missed the call and is now distraught he missed an opportunity to help
The woman found dead in a Melbourne park has been identified as Courtney Herron
Ms Norris said her brother would want Ms Herron to be remembered as a lovely person and not just another homeless person who died on the streets.
She said Ms Herron came from a close Greek-Australian family and had a brother and sister and she used to work for a government department.
Her brother and Ms Herron had lived together before they split four years ago, she said.
A friend of Ms Herron from high school, Matt Walsh, told The Age she was one of the most kind-hearted people he knew.
‘[She was] always smiling and joking, trying to make herself and others happy. That’s how I’ll remember her. She should be remembered by her smile because you would see it every day without fail,’ he said.
Courtney Herron, 25, (pictured) has been remembered as the hunt for her killer continues
‘Breaks my heart that we live in such a f***ed up world, nobody deserves this. It was a pleasure knowing you; even not seeing you in years,’ another friend Jadee Craggles posted on Facebook.
Dog walkers made the horrendous discovery at Melbourne’s Royal Park on Saturday morning, but the cause of death remains a mystery.
Homicide squad Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said extreme violence was inflicted on Ms Herron and it’s not known if there was one or more attackers.
‘The level of violence involved here was extreme in my view,’ he told reporters on Sunday.
‘This was a particularly, particularly horrendous attack.’
Investigators believe Ms Herron was bashed just hours before her body was found about 9.25am on Saturday.
Mourners left handwritten notes at the scene where Courtney Herron’s body was found
Inspector Stamper said the attacker did try and conceal the body and there was no evidence as yet that it was a sexually motivated crime or if a weapon was used.
Ms Herron had been couch surfing and sleeping rough for some time while struggling with drug and mental health issues, Inspector Stamper said.
The last confirmed sighting of her was on May 14 at St Albans when she came into contact with the police.
Her family have been told of her death.
Investigators are still working to piece together Ms Herron’s movements and lead them to her killer, who remains on the run.
Inspector Stamper said detectives and forensic scientists worked through the night and are appealing for public assistance.
‘We’ve spoken to a number of rough sleepers who were in that area at the time,’ Inspector Stamper said.
‘They have been helpful with us in building that picture. There’s still a lot of gaps in terms of what actually happened in the park.’
A man was seen visiting the spot where her body was found and leaving a bouquet of flowers along with the touching note
Mourners lay flowers at the tragic scene where Courtney Herron’s life was cut short
Police believe Ms Herron was assaulted between Friday and 9.25am Saturday morning
‘So we need information from the public in terms of times, if they have seen something, that will enable us to sort of narrow down a lot of our inquiries and focus on, you know, whether it be CCTV, public transport, as I say, these are all issues in play at the moment.’
Ms Herron’s body was discovered near a group of logs under a tree in the 180 hectare park, where a heartbreaking letter was left on Sunday morning.
A man was seen visiting the spot where her body was found and leaving a bouquet of flowers along with the touching note.
‘You deserve so much better,’ the note read.
‘May you rest in everlasting peace.’
According to the Herald Sun, the man, who preferred not to be identified, said he was disturbed by the the death.
Other devastated Melburnians have left flowers at the scene throughout Sunday morning, as police scrambled to identify Ms Herron.
A man was seen visiting the spot where her body was found and leaving a bouquet of flowers along with the touching note
The body of the woman is removed from the scene in Royal Park, Melbourne, on Saturday
‘We are committed to finding the person, or people, responsible for this horrific attack,’ Inspector Stamper said.
‘We are appealing for the community’s help and remind them that no piece of information is too big or too small.’
‘We know a number of people use this park and urge anyone with information or who may have seen anything suspicious to come forward.’
At the time of her death, Ms Herron was wearing a light brown sleeveless vest jacket, a black hoodie, black trackpants, black runners and a blue singlet top.
Royal Park was reopened on Sunday morning after it was closed on Saturday following the grim discovery.
Police described the fatal attack on Ms Herron as ‘horrendous’ as a shrine at the tragic scene where officers found her body continues to grow
A heightened police presence remain at the park, patrolling the area to ensure the public feel safe.
Ms Herron’s death has again sparked anger in Melbourne, with police and the premier calling for men’s attitudes to women to change.
‘This is a terrible tragedy,’ Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Sunday.
The body of a homless woman who was found murdered in a Melbourne park has been identified as 25-year-old Courtney Herron
The premier, who delivered Australia’s first royal commission into family violence last term, said while the state had made significant progress on violence against women, there was more to be done.
‘This is not about the way women behave, this is not about where women are at what hour,’ he said.
‘This is most likely about the behaviour of men.’
The cause of death of the victim hasn’t been determined yet, as forensic teams, police and the SES comb the Royal Park for evidence
A number of police vehicles are in the park and have cordoned off a large area between the North Park Tennis Club and the Flemington Road Cricket Oval
The death comes less than a year after another woman was found dead in Melbourne.
Eurydice Dixon’s body was discovered in Princes Park in Carlton North in June last year, just a few kilometres away from today’s grisly discovery.
The 22-year-old was raped and murdered while walking home from the city at night.
The death is the latest in a series of women killed and dumped on Melbourne’s streets since Ms Dixon’s rape and murder.
Aiia Maasarwe, 21, suffered a similar fate to Ms Dixon after being attacked on her walk home near La Trobe University on January 15.
Both women were attacked by men they did not know and who have since been charged.
In April Natalina Angok’s body was found dumped in Chinatown, allegedly killed by her one-time partner Christopher Allen who has been charged.
‘It’s the death of a woman sadly again in our city,’ Inspector Stamper told reporters.
‘We get impacted as much as anyone else in the community.’
Inspector Stamper said he was ‘angry’ when these kinds of crimes occur.
‘I’m a father of a daughter, and you know, so, I feel it just the same as everyone else, when it happens,’ he said.
The woman’s body was discovered near the North Park Tennis Club in Parkville in Melbourne’s north on Saturday morning
The woman’s death comes less than a year after 22-year-old Eurydice Dixon’s body was found in Princes Park in Carlton North in June last year – just a few kilometres away
Inspector Stamper said that homeless people regularly sleep rough in the Royal Park.
‘This is a horrendous crime, as all murders are. Our focus will be on catching the perpetrator of this horrendous crime,’ Det-Insp Stamper said.
‘We’ve been working very hard since then to get some answers from the crime scene.’
At around 1pm Saturday a police helicopter circled the scene more than 10 times, while officers on bicycles rode around the area speaking to locals.
Officers cordoned off a large area between the North Park Tennis Club and the Flemington Road Cricket Oval.
Forensic investigators in face masks and gloves examined the area inside the police tape – which is surrounded by thick bushes and trees.
North Park Tennis Club head coach Gabriel Moise, said it was ‘pretty scary’ to have a woman’s body discovered nearby.
‘It’s very bad … it’s pretty confronting,’ he told the ABC.
Homicide detective Andrew Stamper (left) told reporters the woman’s death is being treated as suspicious, and is appealing for anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers
Officers have cordoned off a large area between the North Park Tennis Club and the Flemington Road Cricket Oval