Murderer who raped and set fire to international student Aiia Maasarwe set to learn appeal outcome

Murderer who raped and set fire to international student Aiia Maasarwe will learn whether his 36-year sentence will be extended for heinous crime

  • Codey Herrmann raped and murdered international student Aiia Maasarwe
  • The horrific crime sent shockwaves through Melbourne in early 2019
  • Killer was sentenced to 36 years behind bars but will see whether it’s extended 
  • Kerri Judd QC said Herrmann should have received a maximum life sentence 

Aiia Maasarwe, 21, (pictured) was on her way home in Melbourne in January 2019 when she was raped and murdered by Codey Herrmann after getting off a tram in Bundoora

The man who raped and murdered international student Aiia Maasarwe in Melbourne will learn if his nearly four-decade long prison sentence will be extended.

Prosecutors appealed the 36-year jail term handed to Codey Herrmann for Ms Maasarwe’s horrific rape and murder, arguing it was too lenient for his crimes.

Herrmann knocked the 21-year-old unconscious with a metal pole, sexually assaulted her and set fire to her.

He was ordered to serve at least 30 years of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.

But Victoria’s top prosecutor Kerri Judd QC said Herrmann should have received a maximum life sentence.

‘This was a vicious, callous and intentional killing of an unsuspecting young woman who was the unfortunate and random victim of primitive male rage,’ Ms Judd told a bench of five Victorian Supreme Court Justices.

Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth’s sentence put too much weight on Herrmann’s traumatic and disadvantaged background and not enough on protection of the community, she argued.

The appeal judges are due to hand down their decision in the case on Friday afternoon.

Ms Maasarwe had come to Australia in August 2018 on a one-year exchange program with La Trobe University in Bundoora.

She was on her way home from a night out, on a call to one of her siblings in Israel, when Herrmann attacked her.

Herrmann was homeless at the time. He had a history of substance abuse and a severe personality disorder

Herrmann was homeless at the time. He had a history of substance abuse and a severe personality disorder

‘I didn’t expect you to pick up,’ was all Ms Maasarwe managed to say before the phone fell to the ground.

Her last words to her attacker were: ‘you piece of s***’ in Arabic.

Herrmann was homeless at the time. He had a history of substance abuse and a severe personality disorder.

A forensic psychiatrist said the trauma, abuse, neglect and deprivation the young Indigenous man had experienced was so extreme the damage was done by the time he was just two.

His lawyer Tim Marsh said the sentence was stern and his prospects for rehabilitation weren’t extinguished, meaning it’s impossible to say if he’ll always be a danger to the community.

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