THE emotional husband of a woman bashed in her Altona bookshop earlier this
year for less than $200 has called for his wife’s attacker to hand themselves
in.
Michael Overend said the attacker was clearly “not in the right frame of
mind” to attack 61-year-old Jillian Brookes on July 20, as police called for
public assistance to identify a man wearing overalls seen near the store on the
day of the assault.
Ms Brookes’ skull was crushed and her brain was severely damaged. She is now
learning to walk again.
Police are looking for a man seen near the bookshop wearing overalls and a
check shirt.
Detective Senior Constable Matt Noonan, from the Hobsons Bay Criminal
Investigation Unit, said police were seeking a man seen near the shop, in the
Harrington Square shopping strip, wearing a distinctive khaki bib-and-brace
overalls and a checkered flannelette shirt.
He said the man, described as caucasian and of medium build, was a witness
“at this stage” and may have “important information”.
Police also want the driver of a white truck seen behind the store in a
laneway about 4pm, or anyone with information about the truck, to come
forward.
Detective Senior Constable Noonan said the man and truck were separate pieces
of information and police did not believe they were connected.
“[This is] a disgusting attack on an elderly female in her store that wasn’t
warranted. It’s unexplainable at this point,” he said.
Mr Overend said his partner could not speak and was being fed through a
tube.
“The damage that was done to her brain is extensive and no one … can tell
us how long it’s going to take or how well she will get,” he said.
“If anyone has any information whatsoever about this situation, please
contact the police.
“It’s important that these sorts of crime get solved and if the person or
persons who have perpetrated this crime have any remorse for what they’ve done,
please contact the police because it’s in their benefit as well as the society’s
benefit that these sorts of issues don’t happen again.”
Mr Overend said the injuries Ms Brookes sustained could not have been
inflected by a single blow.
“It had to be a frenzied attack with a very heavy metal object,” he said.
“For a 61-year-old woman, they didn’t need to do that.
“They could have taken the money and gone without doing what they did to her.
There was no necessity for it whatsoever, other than them not being in the right
frame of mind. … It’s not worth a person’s life, especially a 61-year-old
woman who could hardly defend herself.
“I just urge anyone with any information whatsoever, please come forward
because the person who did this could not have been in a rational state of mind
when they did it.
“The damage they have done to my wife was not just one blow, it was a
frenzied attack. They need help and if they do it again, the next victim may not
be anywhere near as lucky as Jillian.”
Mr Overend said Ms Brookes’ right hand “was smashed because she was trying to
defend herself. That was the best she could do”.
He plans on selling the shop after it is cleared.
Anyone with information is asked to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333
000.
