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Woman Brutally Stabbed To Death, Allegedly By Stalker Who Broke Into Her Home In The Middle Of The Night
Celeste Manno, 23, was allegedly targeted by a former co-worker who had been harassing her online for some time, according to her family.
An Australian woman is dead after a man her family described as her stalker broke into her home and brutally stabbed her.
Celeste Manno, 23, was attacked inside her home in Mernda, a neighborhood in Melbourne, Australia, in the early morning hours on Monday, The Sydney Morning Herald reports. Her suspected killer, a 35-year-old man whose identity has not been shared, is alleged to have gained entry into the home by breaking a bedroom window, and then stabbed Manno to death at around 4:10 a.m., according to the outlet.
Following the stabbing, the suspect fled the scene, climbing over a side fence near the home, The Herald reports. He then drove his car to the Mernda Police Station, where he crashed, according to the Australian outlet 9News. He was arrested and is currently being guarded at a hospital where he's being treated for minor injuries. He has not yet been charged.
Manno, who studied criminology and psychology in college, worked at a call center, where she was a team leader, in the Mill Park area, The Herald reports. Her alleged killer is believed to be a co-worker who was fired around a year ago; the two were not close, but she was nice to him when he was fired, according to the victim's brother, Alessandro.
“He got fired and she wasn’t close with him at all but just to give him some support. She walked him out the door, and ever since that day he has just been obsessed with her,” he said.
After that, the man began stalking her on social media, making multiple accounts after she blocked him, which prompted them to go to the police with their concerns, the family said, according to The Herald. Manno's father now believes that his daughter was failed by a system that was supposed to protect her.
"It’s got to be changed. It won’t bring her back but it's got to be changed. Too many scenarios have already happened,” he said. “What's it going to take for the government to listen? It's not right. It's got to stop."
At the time of the attack, Manno was at home with her mother, The Herald reports. The family does not know how the suspect was able to get their address.
Manno was days away from celebrating her 24th birthday when she was killed, 7News, an Australian outlet, reports.
