The mother and cousin of a woman killed during an out-of-control party in a Melbourne city apartment on the weekend have shared their grief and loss, calling for justice.
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Laa Chol, 19, died at the short-term stay unit on the 56th floor of the EQ Tower early on Saturday morning and her killer remains on the run.
"I'm speechless ... I don't know what I'm going to do without her," mother Ojwanga Abalo told the Herald Sun.
"Just whenever you saw her, it was a happy moment ... there were no sad moments."
Cousin Nyawie Dau said, "We need justice for Laa. They need to find whoever did this".
Ms Chol, from Pakenham, died at the scene shortly after 5am following a fight between the group that hired the apartment and another that arrived later.
Victorian Police Commander Stuart Bateson told 3AW radio on Monday it was a "tragic death" but there was no suggestion her death was related to warring Sudanese gangs and nor was she a gang member.
"There is widespread grief (among the community) and a widespread desire to bring the perpetrators to justice," he said.
There were "some issues we need to tackle" in regards to crime related to the Australian African community but it was crucial people were aware of "what happens as a result of over exaggerating and targeting, and tarnishing a whole community", he added.
Mr Bateson called for calm and asked that discussions about Australian-Africans be conducted in a sensible way.
Ms Chol's death comes days after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull weighed in to the debate about crime among African-Australian youths in Melbourne, noting "you are not going to make it go away by pretending it doesn't exist".
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday Ms Chol's death was another example of a woman's life cut short, citing other recent deaths across the country including Eurydice Dixon's murder in Melbourne.
"This is as much a violence-against-women issue as it is anything else," he told ABC radio.
"It reminds us that we've got a long way to go when it comes to attitudes towards women and violence against women. That's what I take out of this."
Australian Associated Press