Murdered woman’s harrowing final moments heard on call to friend before she was raped and killed on mountain hike
A WOMAN’S final harrowing moments were heard by a friend who she was talking on the phone with when she was raped and murdered. Australian teacher Shanae Brooke Edwards, 31, was hiking alone on a mountain in Georgia and was heard saying “take your hands off me” as she was savagely attacked last Friday. Shanae […]
A WOMAN’S final harrowing moments were heard by a friend who she was talking on the phone with when she was raped and murdered.
Australian teacher Shanae Brooke Edwards, 31, was hiking alone on a mountain in Georgia and was heard saying “take your hands off me” as she was savagely attacked last Friday.
Shanae was speaking to a pal in the United States at the time and her body was found the next day.
She was walking on the popular Mount Mtatsminda near the east European country’s capital Tbiilsi and was heard pleading “please let me go, ok … just let me go”, the Herald Sun reports.
At the time of her death, she had been teaching English in Georgia, nation in the mountainous Caucasus region where Europe meets Asia that was formerly part of the Soviet Union.
Shanae was last seen on CCTV footage leaving her apartment at 3.35pm on Friday with her hair tied up, wearing a black hiking outfit and carrying a green bag as she set off for the tourist park.
She posted a photo of herself on a mountain with the caption “Joy” on Instagram on Thursday.
Later that day a woman who post on the Expats in Tbilisi Facebook group said she had heard “a woman screaming at the trails under Mtatsminda Park” around an hour after Shanae left home.
She was urged to contact the police while members of the group helped to organise a search.
SCREAMS HEARD
Eventually Shanae’s body was retrieved from near a mountain trail by a searchers including police with rescue dogs, volunteers and her friends.
Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into her death.
Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri said the ministry had “some information about the alleged murderer”, local news website Agenda.ge.
“The ministry and police officers are doing their best to find the murderer.
“We have some information, though I cannot talk about it due to the interests of the investigation.”
Tributes have flooded in for the Shanae who volunteered with the homeless in Melbourne and was a passionate animal lover.
Elina Osmanova, posted a video of Ms Edwards after she adopted a cat and her kittens, saying she had cut short a holiday to care for them.
“She was that kind of person. Loving and caring. I miss her so much,” she said.
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At the time of her death she had been travelling the world since leaving Melbourne in 2016.
Colleague Ross Thompson paid tribute to his “incredible” friend.
“She probably lived more life in 31 years than many live in 80 years, and she probably positively impacted more people in that time than many, many other people do in their whole lives.”
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, where you call 999 and press ‘55’ if you can’t safely speak.
- Always keep some money or a bank card on you, including change in case you need a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to move towards an exit if you are inside the house and get your phone in case you need to call for help.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other potential weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom.
Women’s Aid provides a live chat service – available every day from 10am-6pm or email helpline@womensaid.org.uk
SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.