"Destroyed a beautiful girl": Aiia Maasarwe's rapist and killer sentenced
The man who raped and killed Israeli exchange student Aiia Maasarwe while she walked home alone in Melbourne’s north has received his jail sentence.
Cody Herrmann 21, has been sentenced to 36 years in prison with a non-parole period of 30 years.
The man was sentenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday after pleading guilty to mercilessly hitting Ms Maasarwe over the head with a metal pole a minimum of 13 times.
His appalling crimes did not stop there - he then raped the young woman and set her body and clothes on fire in the early hours of January 16.
Herrmann has already spent 283 days in custody, which makes him eligible for parole in 2049.
Just two rows away from the man who murdered his daughter, sat Ms Maasarwe’s father Saeed and her sister, Noor.
Saaed could be seen changing seats throughout the proceedings to wrap an arm around Noor’s daughter which did not move until Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth had finished her sentencing remarks.
Justice Hollingworth became emotional while speaking of the struggles of Aiia’s family.
“Not only did you take her precious right to life but you deprived her family of a daughter and a sister,” Justice Hollingworth said.
“Her death left an enormous hole in their lives … why did you do these appalling things?”
Justice Hollingworth said the horrifying treatment of Aiia’s body, after she had been murdered by Hermann was a “significant aggravating feature” of his offending.
“Treating her body in this way showed utter contempt for her dignity,” she said.
“She had no opportunity to flee or defend herself,” Hollingworth said to the court after describing Ms Maasarwe as “physically small, unsuspecting and alone.”
“You quickly subjected her to a savage attack with a crude weapon until she was unconscious.
“You dragged her off the footpath to a position of cover where you raped her … you struck her with the clear intention of killing her not merely injuring.
“Women should be free to walk the streets alone without the fear of being violently attacked by strangers.”
Prosecutor Patricia Bourke held back tears as she read through an emotional victim impact statement from the Ms Maasarwe’s family.
“I can’t imagine the horror she felt when she saw Cody Herrmann’s face,” her sister Ruba told the court through her statement.
“Codey Herrmann, you have taken one life but you have broken many more hearts.”
Ms Maasarwe’s mother Kittam said Herrmann had “destroyed a beautiful girl”.
“When I speak about Aiia, I am overwhelmed by sadness,” she said.
“You cannot imagine what happened to me after her death. She was my daughter and friend. I was in touch with her every day. She used to tell me always, ‘I miss you so much Mum. When I see you again I will hug you and kiss you’.”
Ms Maasarwe’s other sister Noor said her sibling was the best person she knew.
“She was always smiling and full of energy. As Mother Teresa once said, ‘Some people come into our life as blessings and some people come into our life as lessons’. Aiia just happened to be both.”