THE horrified sister of an Israeli exchange student has told how she heard her chilling screams on FaceTime moments before she was allegedly raped and murdered.
Aiia Maasarwe, 21, was found dead on Wednesday morning after she was savagely attacked on her way home in Melbourne, Australia.
Today, her sister Ruba has spoken about the disturbing phone call the two were having when Aiia dropped the phone – and Ruba never heard from her again.
Telling of her final late-night safety call on Israeli TV station Channel 13, Ruba said: “We spoke on the phone on FaceTime.
“We spoke about the stand-up comedy she saw and when we would next meet.
“Suddenly I heard her scream.
“I heard vehicles in the background of the call like there was a phone on the floor.
“There was no sign during the conversation of the horror about to happen.
“I heard her screaming and screaming and then the call was cut off.’”
‘PRAYING IT WASN’T HER’
Wannabe rapper Codey Herrmann, 20, faced court on Saturday over Aiia’s death from head injuries from blunt-force trauma.
He has been charged with one count of murder and one count of rape.
Details of the rape charge have not yet been released, with some “specific words” left out of court documents out of respect for the family.
Aiia’s other sister Noor has recounted how she was watching the news in Israel when she saw a bulletin about an unidentified woman’s body being found in Melbourne.
“They didn’t say who it was,” Ms Maasarwe told Australia’s 9 News from Israel.
“But it matches all the details. It was on the same road. Everything. I was just praying that it’s not her.
“But then I saw the shoes and her phone … and I was sure it was her.”
Herrmann was arrested on Friday after Aiia’s half-naked body was discovered near a shopping centre in the Bundoora area.
SHOCKED THE NATION
Student Aiia, a Palestinian Arab of Israel citizenship, was killed while chatting to her sister after getting off a tram on her way home from a gig on Tuesday night.
The horrific attack has sparked revulsion and horror Down Under.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed that Aiia had been raped.
He told reporters: “I just want to begin by saying how devastated I am by the despicable, tragic and violent killing and rape of Aiia Maasarwe.
“Every woman in Australia every person in Australia should be able to travel home in safety.
“I can’t begin to think of what I could say to her family.”
On Saturday he met with Aiia’s father Saeed, who later told reporters: “It gives us a sense of comfort knowing that person has been charged.
“Our compass in this world and our life is not to point towards hatred and revenge.
“We don’t have any other option but to be strong so we can pass through this very difficult time and painful stage and to continue living, providing for the other three girls, to support them and give them what they need.”
‘RANDOM ATTACK’
Mr Herrman was arrested in the suburb of Greensborough after cops tested a hat and T-shirt left at the scene of the crime, it is understood.
Cops said: “The 20-year-old was arrested in Greensborough by local police working in partnership with homicide detectives about 11.20am.”
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said it was believed to be a “random attack”.
He added: “This was a horrendous, horrific attack inflicted on a completely innocent young woman who was a visitor to our city.”
Aiia had been studying Chinese and English at Shanghai University but moved to Melbourne six months ago to study at LaTrobe University.
‘SCARED OF WALK HOME’
The 21-year-old was so scared of the walk from the tram stop to her student accommodation she would call one of her sisters while walking to feel safer, a family member told The Australian.
Victoria Police released CCTV images of the student “in the hope someone saw her on the night and can help track her exact movements”.
Aiia was at a comedy club in North Melbourne earlier that night and caught the 86 tram from a Bourke Street stop.
It is believed the student got off the tram in Bundoora near where her body was located, police said.
‘SCREAMING HYSTERICALLY’
Detectives are said to be probing whether the young woman was stalked from the tram stop, according to the Australian.
Local media reports that one man described seeing a woman being comforted at the scene as she was “screaming hysterically” after the student’s body was found.
This is an horrendous crime that has been inflicted on an innocent member of our community
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper
She had been speaking with her sister on the phone at the time of the attack and her sister alerted authorities, Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said.
He added: “She heard the sound of the fall, the phone falling to the ground and heard some voices and that was it.
“Out of respect to the family, we’re not going into details of injuries and the nature of the assault.
“This is an horrendous crime that has been inflicted on an innocent member of our community.
“Our presumption is that this was a random attack and opportunistic.”
According to The Age, the student was wearing sandals when she was found, but her clothing appeared to be in disarray.
DAD’S AGONY
Her dad Saeed Maasarwe arrived in Melbourne on Friday to formally identify her body.
He issued a tearful statement at the site where his daughter’s body was found.
He said: “She loved this city and the university … very much,” news.com.au reported.
“I had a plan to come at the end of January … to be together with her for vacation with her sister, the older sister, to be with her for two weeks or 10 days.
“We want to go to many places here in Australia.”
Mr Maasarwe said his daughter was “all the time smiling” and that “she loved people”.
She loved this city very much”
Dad Saeed Maasarwe
“She had very big opinions, her mind open for everything,” he said.
“She liked to study different cultures, different nationalities.
“I feel very sad from one side but from another side when I hear this support and this help from the people, from the community, from the police, this is makes the suffer feel at least a little more better.”
Distraught family members who travelled to Melbourne to identify Aiia’s body are organising taking her remains home.
Ms Maasarwe had been in Melbourne on a six-month study abroad programme as part of a degree at Shanghai University.
READ MORE IN WORLD NEWS
It is the second time in seven months that a young woman had been killed on her way home at night in Melbourne, which has an active night life and is popular with overseas university students.
In June, 22-year-old Eurydice Dixon was followed as she walked home from performing at a Melbourne comedy club before she was sexually assaulted and killed in a central park.
Dixon’s death provoked an outpouring of grief, with more than 5,000 people attending a vigil at the park, and a wider push by police to acknowledge that women should be free to come home alone late at night and be safe.
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News Photo Sister tells of horrifying final FaceTime call with Aiia Maasarwe moments before her ‘rape and murder’ in Melbourne
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