THE husband of a woman bashed in her Altona bookshop this year and robbed of less than $200 has called for the 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.
Police have called for public help to identify a man in overalls seen near the store on the day of the assault.
Ms Brookes’ skull was crushed and her brain severely damaged. She is now learning to walk again. Police are looking for a man seen near the bookshop in overalls and a check shirt.
Detective Senior Constable Matt Noonan, of the Hobsons Bay criminal investigation unit, said police were seeking a man seen near the shop in the Harrington Square shopping strip. He was wearing distinctive khaki bib-and-brace overalls and a check flannelette shirt.
He said the man, described as Caucasian and of medium build, was a witness “at this stage” and might have “important information”. Police also want the driver of a white truck seen behind the store in a lane about 4pm, or anyone with information about the truck, to contact them.
Detective Senior Constable Noonan said the man and truck were separate pieces of information and police did not believe they were connected.
Mr Overend said his wife could not speak and was being fed through a tube. “The damage 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. 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 to sell the shop.
Information to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
— Adrian Lowe/The Age
