WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains information about a person who has died.
A 17-year-old boy has been charged with grievous bodily harm following a “senseless” attack on Noongar woman Diane Miller, who was killed after being struck by a concrete block in a Perth shopping centre carpark.
Miller, 30, was five months pregnant when she was struck last Tuesday evening while she was in her car. According to police, the concrete block was launched into her open passenger window and hit her in the head, causing her to go into cardiac arrest. Those nearby tried to resuscitate her for 20 minutes while waiting for ambulance crews to arrive.
Miller passed away from her injuries on Friday morning, and her unborn child was too young to save. She is survived by an eight-month-old son and her husband, Philip Edmonds.
“She was one good girl. I loved her with all my life. I will still love her until the day I die,” Edmonds said, via The Guardian.
“We’re all one mob and I can’t say anything more. It’s too hard.”
What happened?
On Tuesday, Edmonds and Miller went to dinner at the Waterford Shopping Centre in Karawara, Perth. At about 7pm, police allege an argument broke out involving 15 youths, and a concrete block was thrown through the open passenger window of the car Miller was in. The block struck Miller and she went into cardiac arrest before being taken to hospital. Three days later, she died of her injuries.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly fled the scene on Tuesday but he later handed himself into the police. The accused has been charged with grievous bodily harm and has yet to make a plea. At the time of writing, police have declined to comment on whether the charges would be upgraded after Miller’s subsequent death from the injuries. He will be remanded in custody until December 9.
Cannington district police inspector Brett Baddock described the incident as “senseless violence”.
Her family remember their “ray of sunshine”
Miller’s family gathered near the scene of the incident at Waterford Plaza shopping centre on Friday where they comforted each other as they grieved the loss of their loved one.
“She had a wicked attitude, I loved her. We all loved her as one and it’s brought us together. That’s my baby girl and that was my baby inside,” Edmonds said.
Miller’s nieces Marika, Keyanna, and Brianna said they would remember Miller as a ray of sunshine, per the ABC.
“We love our aunty for the world, she was a funny person. You could never be sad around her—she made everyone happy,” Marika said.
Meanwhile Miller’s uncle called for an end to violence following the tragic incident.
“It’s a sad situation that we are all here for today and it should have never happened to anybody. No repercussions to anyone else, we already lost two people out of it, and we don’t want another one,” he said.
“Let police handle it, let them do their job.”
GoFundMe raises more than $42,000
A GoFundMe page set up by Edmonds’ aunty has now raised more than $42,000 (and counting) for Miller’s direct family.
“We have been approached by so many of you on how you can support Phillip and Lloyde [Edmonds’ son] at this time,” the page reads. “Funds raised will go towards extra expenses the family face and any future costs to seek justice for Diane.”
The page adds that Miller and her partner had “only just moved into their long awaited home a few days before the incident”.
