Police described Ms Maasarwe's killing as horrific

Man, 20, arrested over murder of Israeli exchange student in Melbourne

18/01/2019

(Translation appears in Arabic section)

A 20-year-old man has been arrested over the murder of 21-year-old Aiia Maasarwe.

Victoria Police said in a statement the man was arrested in the adjacent suburb of Greensborough about 11:20am.

"The arrest follows an extensive investigation into Aiia's death following the discovery of her body near Main Drive and Plenty Road in Bundoora," the statement said.

The man has not been charged.

The man arrested in Aiia Maasarwe’s alleged murder, Codey Herrmann, is an aspiring rap artist who went to school just minutes from where the Israeli student’s body was found.

Codey Herrmann

Mr Herrmann, 20, has a song posted on one of his Facebook pages under the rap name McCodez which features dark lyrics about suicide and “demons in my mind”.

And on one of his Facebook pages under the name Kody Wrex, Mr Herrmann posted on January 8 this year an eerie messages which says, “International girl of mystery, you knows who you are”.

Students at La Trobe — where Ms Maasarwe was midway through a one-year exchange — held a vigil for her earlier this afternoon.

Another silent vigil has been organised on the steps of Melbourne's Parliament House for 6:00pm, and a special tram carrying only flowers will depart from there at 8:01pm.

It will follow the route of her final journey to Bundoora.

Her father, Saeed Maasarwe, has flown into Melbourne from China to identify his daughter's body and arrange for her return to Israel.

Codey Herrmann

He also visited the crime scene, where floral tributes had been left by members of the public.

Mr Maasarwe thanked the community for its support and police for their work.

He said his daughter was an open-minded person with big opinions, who loved learning about different cultures.

"She respected all the peoples, she respected all the cultures," he said.

"She loved this city.

"I have many dreams to be with her, but I cannot now.

"I want to be with her [for] more time, but someone decide I cannot be."

Mr Maasarwe said he had planned to visit Australia later this month to holiday with his daughter and her sister.

He said Ms Maasarwe had told him she was looking forward to visiting Sydney with him.

Ms Maasarwe

"I wait for her, I still wait, I don't know how long I need to wait," Mr Maasarwe said.

Police described Ms Maasarwe's killing as horrific, but said they would not detail her injuries out of respect to her family.

"This was an absolutely horrendous, horrific attack inflicted on a completely innocent young woman who was a visitor to our city," Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper said yesterday.

"[Her sister] heard everything over the phone," their uncle Abed Kittani told the ABC.

"She heard the cars passing by and she was helpless, she couldn't do anything. She started sending her messages and there was no response.

"Instead of coming home with a diploma, she is coming back in a coffin."

Ms Maasarwe's family told the ABC she had been in Melbourne for about five months and was a clever, funny and adventurous woman with a gift for learning languages.

"We cannot believe that something like this happened in Australia, we think it's very safe there," said another uncle, Rame Maasarwe.

Ms Maasarwe's exchange to La Trobe was part of a larger business degree she was undertaking at China's Shanghai University.

Described as intelligent and gifted in learning new languages, Ms Maasarwe planned to use her degree to work alongside her father, who runs a business in Guangzhou.