A Melbourne couple has recounted the moment they thought they would die after they were bashed in a random, daylight attack while walking along the Yarra River.
Claude and Emma Bennett were beaten by a pair of thugs near the Flinders Street Station underpass around 1pm on March 28.
Claude, 60, was left with a broken eye socket after he was thrown and pinned to the ground, then repeatedly punched and kicked in the face.
The attacker then turned on his wife.
“In that moment I tried to pull him off and then he turned his attention to me,” Emma said.
“He punched me in the face, grabbed me, shoved me, threw me… and everything else was a bit of a blur.”
The male and female offender had already assaulted a young woman eating lunch on a bench when they turned on the older couple.
“I was just helpless on the ground, I couldn’t move at all,” Claude said.
“He had a knee on my chest, I was pinned directly to the ground.”
He believes he was knocked unconscious.
The attack lasted less than a minute before the offenders walked off, continuing to shout and make rude gestures.
Detectives say the “atrocious” assault was completely unprovoked.
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“I can only describe it as vicious, violent and brutal,” Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Eyries said.
“When the young woman was attacked, no words were exchanged at all.”
It’s been more than two weeks since the assault but the perpetrators remain in the public.
Police believe they may be from outside of Melbourne, or Victoria.
“Their heightened state suggests to me they’re not first-time offenders. They’re not known to my investigations team and certainly not known to me,” Detective Senior Sergeant Eyries said.
CCTV of the aftermath shows a caucasian man and woman walking away from Flinders Street Station.
Emma and Claude, who are both disability support workers, say they were on their way to lunch at Arbory Bar and had just crossed the Evan Walker Bridge.
“It was a beautiful, bustling afternoon in Melbourne,” Emma said.
“We never dreamt this would happen to us or anyone in broad daylight in this area.”
Claude spent the evening at St Vincent’s Hospital. Both he and his wife are still struggling with the mental toll of the attack.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
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