Yardley pauses briefly to speak to the other detectives on the front porch before stepping into a set of scrubs and disappearing into the house. Oli exhales.

A desperate screech cuts through the frenetic buzz. ‘Get your hands off me!’

Heads whip around and cameras home in on an overweight, crying woman who is stumbling up the street. She tries to pull away from a man who’s running after her and tugging on her handbag. Finally she breaks free and runs into the crime-scene tape, which slingshots her backwards. She crumples into a messy heap, hands pressed to the concrete path. ‘My baby,’ she cries, sobbing. ‘Evelyn, no.’

The man shuffles over and squats next to the woman, placing his hands awkwardly on her shoulders.

‘This is your fault,’ she screams at him. ‘Your fault!’ Still sobbing, she claws at his fingers and dislodges his grip.

Yardley reappears on the porch, where she zips open her scrubs and steps elegantly out of the white material. Her face is firm but her gaze sympathetic as she surveys the screaming woman and makes her way across the lawn.

Looking stricken, the young woman in the blanket emerges from behind the hedge. Several journalists gasp at the blood covering her face and hands.

Yardley pauses, glancing back and forth from the porch to the street.

‘Alex!’ The older woman scrambles to her feet, her eyes blazing. ‘What happened? Where’s Evelyn?’

Alex sinks to her knees, sobbing. ‘I’m so sorry.’ The blanket slips off her shoulders to reveal a pale-blue jumper stained with blood. ‘I’m just so sorry.’

MYSTERY SURROUNDS HOUSEMATE HOMICIDE

MYSTERY SURROUNDS HOUSEMATE HOMICIDE

Sunday, 4 October 2005

By Joanne Cardellini with Oli Groves

Mystery surrounds the death of a young Melbourne woman whose body was discovered in her St Kilda rental property in the early hours of Saturday morning. Homicide detectives say Evelyn Stanley, 21, was murdered in the house on Paradise Street. The cause of her death has not been confirmed.

Stanley, a University of Melbourne undergraduate arts student and aspiring actress, rented the property with two other women. Nicole Horrowitz, also 21, has not been seen since Friday evening. Police are appealing for anyone with information about the missing woman to come forward. It is believed a third housemate, 20-year-old Alexandra Riboni, called for an ambulance at around 3.30 am, though it’s unknown if Ms Stanley was alive at the time. Ms Riboni was taken into custody yesterday morning, following a dramatic confrontation with Ms Stanley’s parents, and continues to be questioned by police. Ms Riboni’s partner, Melbourne University honours student Miles Wu, was a frequent visitor to the house and is also believed to be assisting police with their inquiries.