Eurydice Dixon’s Killing Prompts Anger In Australia
The alleged rape and murder of a young comedian as she walked home at night in Australia has prompted an outpouring of public grief and anger.
The body of Eurydice Dixon, 22, was found at a football field in Melbourne early last Wednesday, only hours after she had performed a gig at a city bar.
A man, 19, has been charged by Police. Comedians and the public have inundated social media with tributes to Ms Dixon, in a case that has reignited local debate about violence against women. For many, it has evoked memories of the 2012 murder of an Irish woman, Jill Meagher, whose death in an adjacent Melbourne suburb prompted a peace march involving an estimated 30,000 people. Although not widely known, Ms Dixon has been remembered as a talented comedian at the start of her career.
“She had a great passion for women’s issues and social justice issues and she drew upon them a lot in the material that she produced as a comic,” fellow comedian Nicky Barry told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Authorities allege that Ms Dixon was attacked in the suburb of Carlton North sometime after leaving a bar in central Melbourne about 22:30 local time last Tuesday.
A 19-year-old man, Jaymes Todd, handed himself to Police last Wednesday and was charged with her rape and murder. Police say they did not know each other. Local media reported that Ms Dixon was a few hundred metres from home when she was attacked.
According to The Age newspaper, she had earlier sent a text message to a friend saying: “I’m almost home safe, HBU [how about you].”
Last Thursday, a court prohibited the publication of images of Mr Todd after his lawyer argued that he was vulnerable in custody, and that intense media scrutiny could affect the reliability of witness statements.
Mr Todd did not apply for bail and will face a court again on October 3.