Warning: This article contains details which may disturb some people.
The family of murdered student Aiia Maasarwe has given a heart-breaking interview about their loss.
Aiia's sister Noor and father Saeed sat down with The Project Australia's Lisa Wilkinson following the sentencing of the man who murdered the 21-year-old in Melbourne.
- Australian Codey Herrmann sentenced to 36 years for killing Israeli student Aiia Maasarwe
- Israeli student attacked and killed in Melbourne while on FaceTime to sister
Aiia's family spoke of the beautiful woman she was.
"This is not just our loss, all our society has lost and the world has lost this wonderful woman," said Saeed through his tears.
"[She was] a really very special woman. This is not because she is my daughter, believe me."
Noor says she doesn't forgive Herrmann for the murder.
"I am very angry actually. You can't just forgive him and it wasn't just… he didn't just kill her with a knife or with a gun," she said through tears.
"She was a very big part of my life and she wasn't only my sister she was my best friend."
Codey Herrmann, also 21, was jailed for 36 years for the brutal rape and murder.
He attacked Aiia in January. The Palestinian student was on her way home from a comedy gig in Melbourne and was Facetiming Noor when Herrmann snuck up behind her and struck her with a metal bar.
He beat and raped Aiia before setting her body on fire.
The emotional interview left the entire panel of The Project in tears.
Tommy Little was speechless, while co-host Rachel Corbett dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
"It really is impossible to sort of say anything that means anything after viewing that," said co-host Hamish McDonald.
"But I think it is fair to say that we all just feel so terribly sorry that we didn't keep her safe," he continued, his face stained with tears.
Aiia's family has established a medical fellowship in her honour. It will provide financial support to Palestinian doctors training in Israeli hospitals.
They also plan to open a memorial park near where her body was found, called "Aiia's Park."
Newshub.
