Women approached in cars before alleged Merri Creek rape: court
Two women have told a court about terrifying encounters they had an hour before a woman was allegedly violently raped while out jogging.
Two women have shared terrifying accounts in court of when a man approached them in their cars in Coburg before an alleged rape nearby.
A junior doctor broke down crying in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday as she recalled finding out a horrifying rape had allegedly taken place in the same area an hour after she says she struggled to push a man out of her Honda Civic.
Joel Russo, 26, is facing a court committal proceeding accused of the rape on December 3, 2019, with 20 charges laid against him.
He allegedly grabbed a woman from the popular Merri Creek trail about 6.30pm and subjected her to horrifying acts including holding her head underwater, strangulation and multiple counts of penetration.
The court on Monday heard two other women were approached by a man while they were in their cars in the same area shortly beforehand.
About 5.20pm a woman was in her car after leaving work on Bell Street when a man got into the passenger’s side door and climbed into the seat, moving her bag and laptop out of the way and turning to face her, the court heard.
“I was trying to push him out, but then he managed to close (the door),” she said.
She said the man spoke to her.
He appeared “a bit slow”.
“He would say a sentence, and then stare at me,” she said.
The chilling interaction ended and the woman contacted the police the next day when she “got over the shock”, she told the court.
“I called my friend, and then the next morning she said someone in the area was sexually assaulted the same day,” she said.
“That made me really worried it might have been related.”
About 10 minutes later a man approached another woman in her car and tried to get in the passenger’s side door, pulling at the handle several times — but she had locked it when she saw him coming, the court heard.
She told the court she saw him approaching her walking in a “strange way”; wobbling on his feet with an unsteady gait.
After trying and failing to get into the car he asked her for the time, she said.
His voice was “sort of slurred” but she wasn’t sure of the exact colour of his clothing because she was in a state of fear, she said.
Both women were cross-examined on Monday as part of the committal proceeding testing if the evidence against Mr Russo is strong enough to proceed to trial.
One described the man who approached her car as having collar-length hair and the other said he had short hair, the court heard.
The committal continues Tuesday.