00:02A tribute for sex workers who never came home.
00:05Red lanterns forming a display outside the Melbourne Magistrates Court.
00:09By showing up and having a strong presence today,
00:12we're hoping to keep her story and her soul alive.
00:15In November 2024, police discovered the body of a 62-year-old woman
00:20inside a Footscray brothel.
00:2236-year-old Michael James Chalmers faced a committal hearing today,
00:26charged with rape and murder.
00:28Two forensic pathologists were called to give evidence.
00:31Dr Joanne Ho, who conducted the autopsy,
00:34said she couldn't say conclusively how the woman had died.
00:37But her colleague, Dr Joanna Glengarry, came to a different conclusion,
00:41that the woman's death must have occurred
00:43by virtue of some broad neck compression, smothering or gagging.
00:47Under cross-examination, police informant Detective Senior Constable Daniel Fallone
00:52said police only collected a statement from one person
00:55who had attended the brothel during the week prior to the woman's death,
00:59and blood found in the woman's room was not tested.
01:02At the end of the committal process,
01:03a magistrate will decide if Michael James Chalmers is to stand trial.
01:08He's due back in court on Monday.
01:11Thank you, Tim.æ ¹chopie
01:12.ves
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