Police Are Hunting For Thugs Who Bashed Grandmother Outside Melbourne Church

A grandmother has been found bloodied and bruised outside a Melbourne church after a sickening and random attack.

Penelope Katsavos was doing what she does every Sunday: opening the St Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in South Yarra before the priest arrives just after 6am.

Out of nowhere, the 78-year-old was punched in the face by an unknown attacker on March 14 before she was pushed to the ground and kicked.

Penelope also had her shopping trolley deliberately knocked over during the ordeal. No cash was taken.

She sat there in a bewildered state for roughly 30 minutes until a street cleaner discovered her.

Ms Katsavos was eventually taken to hospital and it's since been revealed she has suffered a broken arm, bleeding on the brain, a fractured pelvis and wrist, as well as serious bruising around the face.

The callous and gutless attack has sparked anger and outrage in Melbourne, with people calling on the perpetrators of the assault to come forward.

Her son Evri told 7News: "It saddens me to talk about... to think about the pain that she actually went through.

"[It's] just real gutless to hit anyone, let alone an elderly person... defenceless."

Penelope's daughter-in-law Erin added: "They've just done this for nothing. We're really lucky it wasn't worse - she's a really strong woman, so she's very practical about it and she knows that it was random.

"She's doing OK, better than I would be."

Victoria Police have started an investigation into the incident and hope there will be CCTV from buildings around the area that can shed light on what happened.

A parishioner from St Constantine's said Penelope was devoted to the church and is horrified at the idea she was savagely beaten for no apparent reason.

Jane Pallot told NCA NewsWire: "Everyone is completely shocked by this - it's such a terrible act of cowardice.

"She goes to open the church before the priest every Sunday - she uses her trolley to help balance herself and somebody has just attacked her.

"She's been doing this for over 30 years and this is the first time something like this has ever happened. She is a beautiful lady and church is her life, and we will make sure she is looked after."

Featured Image Credit: 7News

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie