Melbourne has seen a spike in high-profile cases of rape, murder and assault against women in public places and the fifth such case in 2019 occurred last Weekend, where a man named Tyler Skerry, followed a 32-year-old woman who was walking her friend's dog at the Thornbury Park and tried to strike a conversation in helping him find something before he launched into a sexual attack.
The woman found the man to be suspicious as he followed her throughout the park. Sensing danger, she crossed the road into Mayor Park to avoid his stalking in the night. However, the attacker followed her and walked past by asking for help to find something and pulled out a knife and pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her. The woman, however, grabbed his knife in the scuffle and stabbed the 21-year-old assaulter and ran away with the dog towards the road and stopped a passing car for help. The woman was taken to the hospital by the authorities and is now released.
The attacker is now arrested by the Melbourne police and placed in custody. He is charged with rape, assault, theft and will appear in the Melbourne magistrate's court on October 22. However, the prosecutors have asked the court for extra time to gather CCTV footage and DNA results. Magistrate Joanne Metcalf, granted extra time citing 'it was in the interests of justice to allow extra time before the next hearing.' As per reports, the next hearing is on January 2020 and the assaulter will be held in police custody.
Sadly, these kind of attacks against women in public areas are growing in Melbourne. In June 2019, a 22-year-old woman named Eurydice Dixon, was stalked by a man for 5 kms and was raped and brutally killed in a Melbourne park. The killer, Jaymes Todd pleaded guilty of the crime and the sentencing is still in the hearing.
In January, 2019, an international student named Aiia Maasarwe, who is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, was raped and murdered in a public place not far from where she alighted the tram on her way home. The killer Codey Hermann admitted to sexual assault and murder and is facing a supreme court plea hearing.
In May, 2019, a woman named Courtney Herron, died of "a horrendous bashing" as her body was found in the Royal Park in Parkville, Melbourne. In April, 2019, another woman named Natalina Angok's body was found dumped in Melbourne's Chinatown. The killer, Christopher Allen, who was her one-time partner has been charged for the crime.
