Evil In Australia: The Murder Of Sophie Collombet

good morning homicide detectives have spent the night interviewing people at a Brisbane Park where a French exchange student was found murdered exactly One Week Ago by your actions a beautiful young woman has died she was a young vibrant woman with her life ahead of her a young woman with hopes and dreams [Music] the 28th of March 2014 Brisbane Australia in kilpa park a storm had recently rolled through and The Heavy Rain meant that the usually busy place was quiet this was somewhere people went jogging walked their dogs and spent time with friends but in the early hours of this March morning there were so few around for the ones that were there they noticed a woman who appeared to be asleep on a bench under a rot tunder by the river located between the goet bridges and the William Jolly Bridge believing she was homeless many walked past her and ignored her then someone decided to check on her sources differ as to who this was with some saying it was a jogger and others saying it was a homeless man when the newspaper and jacket that were on top of her were pulled back she was found to be naked she had been savagely beaten and raped she had been robbed in her possession stolen she had no pulse and she wasn't breathing attempts to revive her didn't work she was dead before long the Emergency Services were at the scene and a murder investigation was underway although they didn't know who she was officers had a feeling about one of the first places they should begin their investigations they went straight over to the oscare homeless hostel located not far from the park oscare had a curfew of 9:00 p. m. and a failure to comply with the rules would result in residents being asked to leave the police needed to check that everyone was in their bed and accounted for one resident was not he had not been back for several nights and he had left all of his belongings there today reporter Lauren Ellis joins us from Brisbane and Lauren a police any closer to solving this mystery good morning Georgie well last night police said the search at this unit complex behind me was a critical part of the murder investigation detectives were seen entering the complex there were inide for around 1 hour before they left with bags of evidence and a man believed to be in his 20s was also seen assisting police with their inquiries thousands of miles away in France a man was sat at his computer scrolling through social media when he saw a post that stopped him in his tracks police in brisban had posted the jewelry of a young woman they were trying to identify she had been found murdered in a local park he recognized it straight away and contacted the police he knew it was his girlfriend 21-year-old Sophie col Bay Police have confirmed that they believe it was a foreign exchange student from France that was found on the banks of the Brisbane River and that she had been living here for around 1 year and this breakthrough came up police received a phone call from the victim's boyfriend and also friend who both said that she was missing now police divers yesterday spent hours scouring the banks of the Brisbane River and also looking through CCTV footage from neighboring businesses in the hope of identifying a suspect at this stage as you said the woman's body is yet to be formally identified but it is the third foreign exchange student who have been murdered in Brisbane in the last 4 months Georgie all right Lauren Ellis thank you Sophie was originally from France she was studying in Australia at Griffith University having a there the previous February on a study visa she was a real Adventurer someone who excelled in so many areas and was always up for a challenge her brother gam said she was very curious and loved traveling she had friends everywhere but moving so far away from loved ones is always a challenge and this was no different for Sophie she was homesick and missed France her family and her boyfriend Boris desperately Boris had been out in Australia with her but his Visa had run out and when he had to leave Sophie made the decision that she too would later follow she had been working very hard to try and save up as much money as possible so she could go on a trip back home she had done door-to-door sales taught French and had taken any work she could her plan was that she would go back in June Sophie was always in touch with her family and on the 16th of March she emailed her mom signing it off affectionately with kisses this would be the last time her mother heard from her on the 27th of March Sophie had been walking home from a night class at Griffith University after classes had finished at around 8:30 p.

m. she was ready for home she had been offered a lift home by a classmate but she declined and got on a bus with her friend to the cultural center terminal her friend would be the last person to see her alive after getting off the bus and leaving her stopped with her umbrella and bag in hand she headed to her apartment on Key Street walking down by the Brisbane River she was captured on CCTV just before 9:00 p. m.

at the Kila bridge but what had happened from there was not clear but the police did know one thing this was a violent and brutal attack and she would have been able to see her apartment from where she [Music] was the postmortem revealed the many awful injuries she had suffered she had black eyes bruises all over her elbows hands and feet bruising on her spine and Tiny puncture marks on her behind and feet she had died from significant head injuries including a hemorrhage and fractures to her skull she had 100 28 external injuries when people had walked past her as she lay naked in the cold covered by nothing but newspapers and a jacket she was just clinging to life Sophie had actually survived for several hours after the attack it's disgusting you look at car accidents and they're bad enough and sudden detective inspector Rod Kemp told reporters but for someone to be brutally attacked in this manner it's just disgraceful police have released a security footage of 21y old old French student Sophie colay in the moments leading up to her murder it's been almost a week since the business student was bashed to death beside the river in South Brisbane more police will Patrol the area overnight as the hunt for her killer intensifies you would think there were a lot of people around or but it was raining heavily so yeah no it is shocking police divers found her umbrella in the Brisbane River they're still looking for her clothes boots handbag and possibly her smartphone and tablet but what was the motive behind the murder police say at this stage there's no evidence to suggest the killer was known to miss colay and are treating this as an opportunistic attack I don't think there's anything to suggest you can put a tag of a foreign student on I think she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time foot patrols have been bolstered around the park and officers are interviewing walkers in the hope of finding a new lead news of the murder has made headlines in Sophie's Hometown in northern France over sees reports are calling her death mysterious back home uni students from across Brisbane are planning a vigil in the coming days we're deeply SED by this and we're having this vigil next Thursday night in memory of her to honor her and during a meeting with the French Ambassador the premier offered his condolences and assistance to the colay family they're now arranging the heartbreaking return home of her body Josh bavis ABC News Brisbane the investig ation into her murder was huge involving more than 60 police officers they couldn't find her clothes they had no weapon and also no suspects many in Brisbane were in shock and the outrage was palpable with those who had known her being left absolutely devastated her roommate said she was a kind gentle quiet person who on Earth would want to hurt her in the days that followed Sophie's murder a makeshift Memorial began to form in the park where she was found with many leaving flowers and tributes to her I did not know you Sophie read one note but I had to be here just to show you how much I care another read angel I never knew you but I will never forget you rip beautiful girl # Safe Streets for Sophie people were understandably frightened Sophie was the fourth international student to be killed in that area recently and although the murders were not linked the police said they were deeply concerning Queensland State Premier Campbell Newman maintained that those visiting from overseas were safe I believe it is safe not only for international students but for Brisbane students he said thankfully they found the offenders in those other situations the police carried on collecting evidence from the scene and also started trolling through more of the CCTV footage from that night to see if it picked anything up and sure enough it did the same man who had not been accounted for at the hosal had been caught on CCTV in the same area as Sophie that night Benjamin James milard Benjamin Had a criminal record that included burglary and violent offenses but no sexual offenses he had been released from prison in December 2012 for assault and then recalled after breaching his parole and had been released the previous July he also had a history of drug offenses causing a public nuisance and robbery he had written on a Facebook page called probation sucks probation is easy jail and parole suck you have it easy on probation look is part of the investigation the ongoing investigation into death of uh Sophie colum by um detectives have identified a number of persons of interests or Witnesses surrounding this matter uh and we're currently asking for the public uh in particular a p certain person who we believe was at the scene around the time of uh we believe when Sophie was uh was killed um and that person we wish to give to the public or through through the media if I may uh he's named Benjamin James Milwood he uh is 25 years of age he's 180 sentiment is proportionate build he has a dragon tattoo on the left side of his chest um short uh Fair hair hazel eyes um this person has come to our notice through um speaking to other Witnesses and examining um CCTV in the area um we asked people if they know this person um perhaps not to approach him we don't know what his involvement is in the matter of the stage but he is a person that we wish to speak to um his involvement in the matter at this stage the totality of it we're not sure of but obviously for personal safety if people know this person if they could contact Crim Stoppers or the duton park CB uh I would advise people not to approach him if he is is involved in this matter then clearly he could be a risk um and uh obviously it' be easier or better if members of the public could contact Crim Stoppers or the duton park criminal investigation Branch patrols were stepped up and locals and businesses were shown photographs of him hoping that someone would have seen him Benjamin was recorded getting onto a train at South Brisbane station at 11:23 p. m. that night the train had terminated at Bowen Hill station where he was again seal on CCTV he appeared to be unsettled and headed in the direction of abbottsford Road whether he has just taken flight or not we don't know he said it's believed he slept near the airport before taking the airport train to Varsity Lakes It is believed he then walked and hitchhiked to Baler his cousin took to Facebook to urge him to come forward and talk to the police if anyone has seen see my beloved cousin Benny please contact the police love you Benny everything's going to be okay his brother Josh also urged him to come forward and clear his name as did his mother Diane we love you Ben please come home she said why don't you call us to sort it all out it's for Sophie's family they need to know she added that she didn't believe he was guilty of what he was being accused of her family would deeply moved by the amount of support they had been shown gam said the French Embassy the policeman the has been Town Hall people everybody in Australia has done absolutely everything that is possible to help in any way there is a website made for us in Australia where people have been posting messages and they get translated into French French people living in Australia offer support to many people the problem now is to get her back as soon as possible a nationwide manhunt was underway and no stone was being left and turned soon they would get their first major breakthrough a hostile in Bal got in touch with the police on the 7th of April to tell them that he had stayed there a few nights ago investigators found that he had registered with a job agency in kofs Harbor New South Wales officers were dispatched and less than 2 weeks after her murder Benjamin milard was in custody he said he could only remember some of what had happened but told the police when he was being arrested what I've done is just horrible I didn't intend for nothing to happen he also told the police he was a bit of a sex addict he was extradited back to Queensland to face the police there the outrage and disgust that so many people felt soon turned into action more than 2,000 people marched through Brisbane and held a candlelight vigil in memory of Sophie the president of the postgraduate Student Association at Griffith University where Sophie had studied addressed those in attendance and recalled Sophie's laughter and joy 6 months later and the laughter has gone he said we all know the drill when it comes to personal safety but something like this you simply can't prepare for we owe it to Sophie to ensure that Brisbane is a city which is not not only safe in the brochure but in real life he added those in attendance followed a group of Pipers into the Cara Park where candles were lit it was clear just How Deeply this had impacted those living not only in Brisbane but the wider area and Australia as a whole the organizer of the vigil said that the enormous turnout showed that Brisbane cared about violence against women violence against women is happening and it's not okay she said it's so important to do this to also provide Comfort to her family who were thousands of miles away on the other side of the world one attendee said she's everybody's daughter and she's everybody's sister Sophie's body would eventually be taken back to France for her funeral and in her hometown more than 1,200 people gathered her parents Gian coren her brothers L and gam led the possession of 50 of Sophie's nearest and dearest including her boyfriend Boris all of them carrying long stemmed carnations audible sobs could be heard as the procession walked members of the musical club that Sophie had played the lead flutin provided the music with them helping each other get through the pain by saying that this was for Sophie eight books of condolences were filled next to a photograph of Sophie hugging a koala at the Lone Pine koala sanctuary in Brisbane Benjamin milward was eventually charged with deprivation of Liberty armed robbery rape and murder and it was soon time for his committal hearing where it would be decided by a magistrate if the evidence presented was enough to take the case to trial that evidence coupled with the witness testimonies would help piece together a timeline of events he had told police he couldn't remember much due to the drugs he had taken that night but he could remember sexually assaulting her he said he didn't have a weapon but did recall striking her that day he had injected crystal methamphetamine and drank huge amounts of wine beer and bourbon a fellow resident of osare named Justin had supplied the drugs to Benjamin and the pair had met again in the evening by the Riverside runder where they took more drugs one of the witnesses who had taken drugs with Benjamin that day said it did not affect one's memory I can still recall what I'm doing it doesn't so much affect your memory but your stamina your you're fully aware of what you can and can't do he added that the amount of drugs taken that day was fairly bad she had walked towards the Rotunda just before 9:00 p.

m. as she was making her way home Benjamin Had attacked her violently raped her and beat her as she clung on to life he told her he would go and get help but he didn't he threw her belongings into the river and fled he said he panicked and instead bought a train ticket to ipswitch and left her to die he didn't end up getting the train choosing instead to go to koughs Harbor in new southwest a forensic scientist said that DNA had been taken from underneath Sophie's fingernails this DNA was 1.