Israeli Student Murdered in Australia

A 21-year-old Israeli student was found murdered in Melbourne, Australia on Wednesday.

The student, identified as Aiia Maasarwe, was reportedly talking to her sister on the phone as she was taking the tram home from a comedy show Tuesday evening when her sister heard the phone drop as well as voices on the other end. Maasarwe’s partially clothed body was found in the bushes.

The police have not ruled out that Maasarwe could have been sexually assaulted. The full extent of her injuries were not disclosed out of privacy to her family.

“This is an absolutely horrendous, horrific attack that has been inflicted on an innocent member of our community,” Detective Andrew Stamper told reporters, adding that the attack on Maasarwe was likely a “random” ambush.

A “1986” baseball cap and a T-shirt were reportedly found at the scene of the crime, which investigators believe likely belonged to the murderer.

“Someone in the community knows about this,” Stamper said. “Someone has gone home on Tuesday night, or in the early hours of Wednesday morning, maybe with blood on them, missing items of clothing. Somebody knows about this.”

Maasarwe was taking part in a study abroad program at La Trobe University; she had been studying English and Chinese at Shanghai University.

The Israeli embassy said in a statement, “We express our heartfelt condolences to Aiia’s family and stand ready to support them during this time as our consul works to return her body home to Israel for burial.”

A silent vigil will be held for Maasarwe on the steps of Australia’s Parliament House.