Aiia Maasarwe murder: Israeli student was on phone to sister at time of attack

The Israeli student murdered near a Melbourne shopping centre was on the phone with her sister as she was attacked.

Forensic police photograph the scene. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Police have released images of a young Israeli student from security camera footage taken the night she was murdered outside a Melbourne shopping centre.

Photos of a T-shirt and cap found near her body yesterday morning have also been released as Victoria Police continue to hunt for the killer.

They believe the clothing may have been left there by her killer.

Detectives believe Aiia Maasarwe, who went by Aia Masarwe online, had been at a club in North Melbourne on Tuesday night before catching a tram from Bourke Street, in the CBD, at around 11pm.

A T-shirt left at the scene.

A cap found at the scene.

Relatives said she was on the phone with a sister in Israel when she stepped off the tram in Bundoora, in Melbourne’s north, where she was staying while studying at nearby La Trobe University. The sister is said to have heard the phone fall to the ground.

Police said she had been “seriously assaulted” before her death.

Masarwe’s father has flown to Australia.

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said information from the public is likely to prove crucial in this investigation.

Israeli exchange student Aiia Masarwe. Picture: Instagram

“There will be someone out there who has seen a person wearing this clothing, and we really need them to come forward and provide us with that information,” he said.

“If you have information about the identity of this person then I urge you to tell us.

“We have a grieving family who has had to fly halfway across the world under the most horrific circumstances and we want to be able to give them some answers.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said Masarwe had been studying at Shanghai University and had been in Melbourne for several months on a study abroad program.

Detectives are exploring whether she was followed off a tram by her killer, before she was murdered.

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said investigators were looking at whether the woman or her killer — or both — were passengers of the 86 tram, which runs from the CBD to Bundoora, as her body was found near a tram stop.

Outside Polaris Town Centre shopping centre where a body was found. Picture: AAP/ Stefan Postles.

Local residents were being interviewed by police, who were also examining whether the woman’s — or her attacker’s — movements were captured by CCTV cameras in the area.

There are houses and student accommodation in the area, but Inspector Stamper said it was still unclear where the woman had been heading before her death.

Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper speaks to the media outside Polaris Town Centre. Picture: AAP/ Stefan Postles

A nearby resident walking to the tram said he came across the scene shortly after the woman was found. He told The Age he saw another woman, who was still holding shopping bags, screaming hysterically as she was comforted by a tradesman who had discovered the victim.

“I walked past the scene and one of the tradies was comforting the girl. Another [was] walking back and forth, and another one on the phone to the coppers,” he told The Age.

“They didn’t want me to stick around and I didn’t see much, but they did make a comment, ‘It doesn’t look good’.”

“We would ask for anyone that may have dashcam footage, CCTV or may have seen anything here that could be a small piece in the jigsaw puzzle to contact Crimestoppers.”

Police are still keen to speak to anyone who was in the vicinity of Main Drive and Plenty Road between 11pm last night and 1am this morning.

The Israeli consul in Canberra and the Israeli Foreign Ministry are assisting Masarwe’s family.

— With AAP