'Beautiful, loving daughter', 24, who 'had her throat slit' in Sydney knife rampage is pictured as suspect's sister apologises to victims
THE woman who allegedly "had her throat slit" in a flat by the Sydney knifeman moments before he rampaged through the city has been named as Michaela Dunn.
Cops say Mert Ney met the 24-year-old at her apartment building before causing havoc in the city centre.
He allegedly spent just 20 minutes with tragic Michaela, who was believed to have been working as an escort when she died.
Following the pair's 1.30pm meeting, 20-year-old Ney ran to Hotel CBD and stabbed Linda Bo, 41, who worked for shipping company Cosco, in the back.
Aussie police later issued a statement releasing Michaela's name saying her family “appreciate the support offered by the community” and request privacy.
Her heartbroken mum described her "very much loved" daughter as a “beautiful girl from a beautiful family” who had travelled the world and was loved by her sister, news.com.au reports.
She added that she was struggling to deal with the loss.
"SORRY A MILLION TIMES"
Michaela's social media shows she had travelled the world, attending the world-famous Coachella Festival earlier this year and celebrating her New Year’s in Sri Lanka.
She also backpacked around Europe with a tour group in 2017.
After graduating from Rosebank College in 2012, Ms Dunn studied at the University of Notre Dame, posting pictures of her time on campus.
Friends and family have started to pay tribute to the beloved 24-year-old.
Joan Westenberg, who had known Ms Dunn for 10 years, said she was “like my baby sister”.
“I cannot describe how sad and how broken I am at this moment. I loved this kid. She was incredible,” She tweeted later saying “I just want to scream right now”.
“I am angry that male violence has taken another victim. Selfishly I am so angry that the victim is a young woman I deeply respected and cared about.
"Mikki was a true delight to know. The violence in this country cannot continue. It cannot.”
The attacker's sister has branded Ney "despicable" and said she has no intention of visiting her brother in hospital.
She told reporters: “I don’t want to go and meet him. If this happened to some family member, like, (who) you knew, you wouldn’t want to go near them, would you? Like, something so despicable.
"I still can’t believe it’s him but it is him."
She added: "I just want to say sorry to the family like, sorry a million times. Sorry for everything.
"We didn't know that he would do this because he's never hurt the cats, like, you know, how they usually hurt cats before killing someone or like dogs whatever."
After allegedly attacking Michaela, Ney was filmed yelling "Allahu Akbar " and "shoot me in the f***ing face" as he ran through the Australian city with a bloody knife.
He was subdued by brave bystanders, including three Brits and an ex-Bury football star, who tackled him to the ground and restrained him with a milk crate.
Lee Cuthbert, Paul O'Shaughnessy and his brother Luke O'Shaughnessy, all from Manchester, were working in the area when they heard the man attempting to stab several people outside,
The trio bravely held the suspect down as police raced to the scene where they were able to arrest him in the Australian city.
Paul is a former Bury midfielder who moved to Australia in 2008 to play for North Sydney FC.
Ney spent the night under Police guard in a Sydney hospital where he underwent surgery for an injured knee.
Police have yet to interview Ney, who was known to suffer from mental problems and have a fascination with weapons.
Police found a black knuckle duster and a plastic black and green toy Glock pistol on Mert Ney’s bedroom shelves in April this year after being called to his family’s western Sydney home for “an unrelated matter”, the Australian Daily Telegraph reports.
A version of this story first appeared on news.com.au
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