Fugitive acid killer of nurse Monika Chetty ‘doesn’t deserve to be here’
THE son of a Sydney woman killed by brutal acid burns says her fugitive attacker does not “deserve to be here” and pleaded for the public’s help.
NSW
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THE son of a Sydney woman killed by brutal acid burns says her fugitive attacker does not “deserve to be here” and pleaded for the public’s help to solve the crime.
Daniel Chetty, 19, remembers his mother Monika Chetty for her bubbly demeanour and the endless love she had for him and his two younger siblings.
But those memories are beset by the horrific circumstances of her death four years ago.
Ms Chetty was found moaning in pain as she lay in bushland at West Hoxton on January 3, 2014. She had acid burns to 80 per cent of her body, which police believe she endured for 10 days while sleeping rough and without seeking medical attention. She died in hospital 28 days after being found.
“There’s something wrong them, that’s for sure, they don’t deserve to be here,” Daniel said today at a police appeal for information from the public.
“You can’t just do that to anyone or anything that’s living. It’s just brutal, it’s just wrong.
“(It was) such a big thing to happen to us, we’re trying to take it in and understand it but until we get answers to why this all happened ... We just want answers. Why? Who?”
Daniel said his father Ronald Chetty and aunt Mohini Prasad - both present at today’s appeal - had done their best to raise the three children but they missed their mother.
“As we keep growing older and older we still don’t have that mother figure,” Daniel said.
“My mum was very loving and caring, happy and bubbly. She loved everyone. She wanted to raise all three of us.”
Detective Chief Inspector Dean Johnstone said Ms Chetty’s death had affected police as well.
“In my career as a NSW police officer, nearly two decades as a detective, I have never seen injuries of this nature,” Insp Johnstone said.
He believes Ms Chetty lied when she told investigators from her hospital bed that a man threw acid on her in a random attack at Bigge Park in Liverpool.
Insp Johnstone confirmed police were still investigating Ms Chetty’s role in a marriage visa scam in the search for her killer.
They believe Ms Chetty knew her attacker and was so terrified they may also target her family that she refused to tell doctors or police about her burns.
“We’re suggesting that she was concerned for a reprisal attack on herself or her loved ones,” Insp Johnstone said.
She was known to beg for money around Liverpool and West Hoxton and often refused help from strangers.
Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.