CORIO KILL CASE TWIST

MUM STABBED: Five people linked to scene all have different stories, say police

FIVE people linked to a Corio house where a mother was brutally stabbed to death have all given vastly different accounts of what happened on the fatal night, police say.

It comes as loved ones of Raichele Galea, pictured, speak for the first time about the loss of a “magnificent soul”, vowing they will not rest until the killer is caught.

“The world is a darker place now because a bright light is gone,” her partner, Anthony Santuccione said.

“There’s a hole in everyone’s lives.

“She was one of a kind.”

Ms Galea, from Waurn Ponds, left work at a recycling plant in South Geelong for the last time just before 9.30pm on Friday, June 30.

Within 30 minutes, she had been repeatedly stabbed in the home of her ex-boyfriend’s new girlfriend.

The lover, Debra Wills, 44, and her sister Sandra, 43, were in the unit when paramedics arrived and they told police they did not know who had attacked Ms Galea.

But new evidence suggests there were five people at the Corio property where the 44year-old victim was set upon.

It’s believed three of them — including a man in his 20s with a criminal history, and his heavily pregnant girlfriend — left the unit after Ms Galea was assaulted.

It is understood police have seized CCTV footage, while a knife found at the Matthews Rd property is undergoing forensic testing.

A silver Holden Commodore belonging to one of the people who had been at the scene was also tested for evidence.

Devastated family and friends of the mum-of-two said they were struggling to understand how anyone could hurt the woman they described as cheeky with a “heart of gold”.

Ms Galea had had personal struggles including substance addiction in the past, but had moved on from tumultuous relationships and had formed new friendships.

She was proud of her “new life” including her job, new car, and happy relationship with Mr Santuccione.

“She had to be in the happiest place she’d been for 10 or 15 years — she was definitely at her best … she loved her life now,” a long-time friend said.

Homicide squad detective Sergeant Steve Sheahan said police were unsure why Ms Galea had gone to the Corio property.

“We’ve spoken to five people but all have varying accounts of what happened,” Sgt Sheahan said.

If you can help, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.