Like for many Melburnians who live in the inner north, Princes Park has been the scene of many a treasured memory in my last 10 years.
I remember tottering past on my walk home after an evening at the uni pub. I remember evening strolls with my housemates, our fingertips numbing in the cold. I remember seeing the first ever AFLW game in the grounds of Carlton Football Club. I remember dog-watching and sun-soaking and beer-swigging. I also remember cheering on my partner from the dewy grass as he dribbles the soccer ball.
On Thursday night when I returned, a cold curtain had been drawn over it. This exact soccer pitch, this park normally full of families and schoolchildren, now tells a story that pierces our hearts: that the life of 22-year-old Eurydice Dixon has been savagely and senselessly taken. That a young woman who is only trying to get home after a night working cannot be safe in her own neighbourhood. That you never know when you will stumble into the orbit of a monster.
With the police tape and officers now cleared away, it is eerily silent. On a Thursday evening that is usually brimming with activity, the tennis courts and sporting fields are deserted. There is barely a soul to be seen on the jogging paths. All that is left is piles of flowers, trembling in the wind in the place where Dixon’s body lay.
By all accounts from loved ones, Dixon was smart and funny and kind. She was a daughter, a sister, a lover and a friend. She was a comedian with so much brightness ahead of her, and so much brightness to give.
Top Comments
My deepest respects to her memory.
Yes a phone is fairly useless in such a situation (apparently he was stalking her home, which I suspected as the CCTV images of him were from the CBD, where she also started her journey).
Texting a friend or family member along the route is useless, as was also the case with Jill Meagher calling her brother in Perth that awful night in 2012.
They are not there, they cannot see what or who is around you, hear what is around you or help you. The one thing that MAY possibly be helpful... even if it saves just ONE person...
Please install the Emergency+ app on your phone. I urge you to take two minutes and do it for yourself. It's the one button to hit if ever you feel afraid, or are at the scene of an emergency.
I'm starting to think there needs to be some discussion about legalising mace and/or tasers. What chance do most women have against an attacker who is likely larger/stronger than her? At least if we could spray them or tase them, we might have a fighting chance to get away.