Woman stabbed in vicious robbery
The victim of a vicious stabbing staggered several hundred metres to her Brunswick home after being attacked as she walked to the local train station.
Just minutes after leaving home for work, Lovena Yendall returned bleeding heavily after being slashed across the throat.
The 27-year-old was walking towards Brunswick Station to catch a train to work at about 6.15am when she was set upon from behind.
Her attacker covered her mouth and took her handbag before slashing her throat in Albert Street.
Still in shock, Mrs Yendall managed to stumble to her mother and father-in-law's home nearby where emergency services were called.
The victim's father-in-law, David Yendall, said he opened the door to her covered in blood and holding her neck.
"It was a shock to see her like that. She was bleeding everywhere, we took her inside and got a towel to try to stop the bleeding," he said.
"She was in shock, she couldn't believe what had happened to her."
Detective Senior Constable Kylie Snart said despite the woman immediately handing over her handbag when he asked for it, the attacker slashed the woman's throat with an unknown weapon.
"It is quite a deep gash along her throat," Det Snart said.
"It is obviously a vicious attack, a random attack on a young woman who is just on her way to work," she said.
Lovena Yendall has undergone surgery at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and remains in a stable condition. She also continues to assist police with the investigation.
Using sniffer dogs, police conducted a search along the train line and in car parks before finding the stolen handbag on the roof of a nearby building.
Police plan to investigate CCTV footage from a nearby supermarket and the train station to see whether the offender was captured on film.
It is thought lots of people would have been near the train station when the attack occurred, which was only one block from the Sydney Road shopping strip.
The culprit is described as 175cm tall and wearing dark clothing.
