A former boyfriend of Courtney Herron has spoken about his shock at her brutal killing.
Ahmet Ozkurt dated the 25-year-old, who was bashed to death in a Melbourne park on the weekend, for three years.
The refugee spoke to Nine from a detention centre as his visa has expired.
“I still can’t believe that this has happened to her,” Mr Ozkurt said. “I’m still thinking maybe it’s somebody else.
“She didn’t deserve this.”
He said Ms Herron was “always smiling”.
“She was funny, she was so friendly,” he said. “She was trying really hard … to fix her life but this drug problem, it’s not easy.”
The 27-year-old is accused of brutally bashing Ms Herron to death after the pair was seen at a party together on Friday night.
As Ms Herron’s family grieves, the young woman’s friends have opened up about her drug addiction and her efforts to get clean.
Another ex-boyfriend, Terrick Norris, told The New Daily Ms Herron would “turn up at my door around once a month”.
“She was never living on the streets, she was always couch surfing,” Mr Norris said.
“I let her stay at mine a bunch of times and so did her mother. But she was addicted to drugs and sometimes it got a bit too much.”
Her friend Jessica Bateman told The Project she was “shocked” and “saddened” by the news of Ms Herron’s death.
She said the system failed her friend.
“She was trying to get into public housing, she was trying to get onto methadone or something that would stop the withdrawal symptoms that she was going to face — and the fear of withdrawal is what really kept her using,” Ms Bateman said.
“She couldn’t even get public housing … Women are more vulnerable than men being homeless. Men can attack them, can take advantage of them, especially when it concerns mental illness and drugs.
“Those two things … it leads to jails, institutions, homelessness and death.”
A vigil has been organised for Ms Herron at Royal Park in Parkville from 5-7pm on Friday. Members of the public are urged to attend to pay respects to a young woman’s life that was tragically cut short.
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