Man charged with threatening to kill woman’s unborn baby in terrifying ‘indiscriminate attack’ on young family as he goes to court on a range of other charges
- Man, 47, charged with alleged gas station attack
- Man allegedly threatened to kill pregnant mother
- CCTV footage showed a man kicking the passenger door
A man who left a young family traumatized after allegedly threatening to kill a pregnant mother and her unborn child has been charged.
Shruthi Sheshagiri was waiting for her husband and five-year-old son at an Ampol gas station in Huntingdale, southeast of the city, when a man approached her car around 9:30 p.m. on March 17.
Police allege the man threatened to kill the woman if she did not open the car door, kicked and punched the vehicle before taking off on his motorcycle.
Detectives arrested a 47-year-old man from Melbourne’s Clayton South on Monday over the alleged attack after receiving a tip from the public.
He was charged with making death threats, criminal damage, disqualification from driving, driving an unregistered vehicle and committing criminal offenses while on bail.
Surveillance footage from the gas station shows a man kicking the car after a running jump, the impact leaving a large dent in the passenger side door.
Shruthi Sheshagiri and her husband Mahesh Sriramaiah (pictured together) say they have been traumatized by the alleged assault on a Melbourne petrol station
CCTV showed the moment when the man started kicking the passenger door
Ms Sheshagiri’s husband, Mahesh Sriramaiah, said his family was traumatized by the alleged attack, with his five-year-old son struggling to cope.
‘It’s unfair. It has shocked us in our personal lives,” he said 9News.
“He’s already said this to some of his friends, to his teacher.”
His heavily pregnant wife said she received support from her friends and community and that her work had brought her professional help.
“I should see some sunshine on the other side,” she said.
Senior Constable Sean Embery said last week that the family’s experience was “one of the most traumatic things” he could imagine.
Detectives arrested a 47-year-old man from Clayton South (pictured) on Monday over the alleged attack after receiving a tip from the public
“I can’t even put myself in their position,” he said.
“It’s something that is of concern not only to this family, but to the wider community in the area.”
The 47-year-old man was also charged with a separate assault on a 19-year-old man in Clayton on March 23, as well as an unrelated home burglary.
The man was remanded to appear before Moorabbin Magistrates Court on April 12.