Police Have Arrested A 20-Year-Old Man Over The Murder Of Aiia Maasarwe
Victoria Police have arrested a 20-year-old man over the murder of 21-year old student Aiia Maasarwe in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
The man was reportedly arrested after police conducted forensic tests on a cap and a t-shirt that were found discarded near Maasarwe’s body.
“We have very good reason to believe that these items were discarded by the offender,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said yesterday, saying the clothing was “the key to solving this crime” and appealing to the community to come forward if they had any information about the owner of the garments.
UPDATE: @VictoriaPolice has released images of a t-shirt and cap left at the scene 21yo Aya Masarwe was killed in Bundoora.
They've also released CCTV images showing the clothing she wore that night, in the hope someone saw her. Anyone with info should contact @CrimeStopperVic pic.twitter.com/8dDgdrTUN2— ABC Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) January 17, 2019
“This is a horrendous crime that has been inflicted on an innocent member of our community.” Police also said yesterday that “the presumption at this stage is that this was a random, opportunistic attack”.
Maasarwe’s body was found by passers by in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora early on Wednesday morning. Police believe she was assaulted and killed on her way home from a comedy show on Tuesday night. At the time of the attack, Maasarwe was on the phone to her sister, who said heard the phone suddenly fall to the ground mid-conversation.
Maasarwe’s death has been met with sadness and outrage by the community, and hundreds are expected to attend a silent vigil planned for tonight on the steps of Victorian Parliament.
We’ve contacted Victoria Police for further information, and we’ll update this story when they respond.