Melbourne model Elise Hodder, 24, died after a car struck pedestrians at Sir Zelman Cowen Park in Kooyong in the early hours of 13 October 2024. Loved ones and her modelling agency remembered her as warm, curious and bright. In November 2025, the driver, Connor Mathiasson, was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with a seven-year minimum, after pleading guilty to culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury.
Who was Elise Hodder?
Hodder was a 24-year-old Melbourne model. Her family and FiveTwenty Model Management spoke publicly about her after her death. Her parents described her as a “beautiful soul with a radiance that touched everybody.” The agency said she was curious about the modelling industry and “always showing up with a bubbly, bright attitude.” ABC News reported their tributes on 14 October 2024.
What happened at Sir Zelman Cowen Park?
In the early hours of Sunday, 13 October 2024, police were responding to calls about a noisy party and gathering at the park in Kooyong. ABC News reported that officers witnessed a car strike three pedestrians at about 1:10 a.m. Hodder died at the scene. Another pedestrian was seriously injured, while a man was not physically injured.
Later court reporting described a Holden Commodore reversing from a parking place and hitting Hodder and her friends. That account was reported in October 2025 as evidence and submissions heard in court, rather than as the initial police account. ABC News covered the court hearing on 24 October 2025.
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What did “secret Melbourne party” mean?
Reports described the gathering as a party, dance party or rave, but the available reporting does not establish who organized it or verify the private arrangements implied by “secret.” The phrase should not be read as confirmation of an organizer or a particular event setup.
A friend quoted in PerthNow posted, “We are in so much pain thinking of you.” The matching PerthNow report focuses on grief and tributes, but its accessible text does not establish a publication date. Read the PerthNow report.
What happened in court?
In the immediate aftermath, news reports described allegations and charges against 23-year-old Connor Mathiasson; those were not yet a final court outcome. Later reporting said Mathiasson pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury. On 10 November 2025, he was sentenced to 11 years’ jail, with a seven-year minimum.
ABC News reported that Mathiasson’s blood alcohol reading was 0.213 and that traces of cocaine and cannabis were found in his system. The same sentencing report quoted County Court Judge Robyn Harper describing his actions behind the wheel as “overwhelmingly negligent.” These details and the judge’s characterization refer to the court reporting, not to the first reports after the crash. Read ABC News’ sentencing report.
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What do the reported sentencing figures show?
ABC News reported Sentencing Advisory Council figures for culpable-driving cases from 2018 to 2023: 88 per cent of people convicted of culpable driving causing death were male drivers, and about 32 per cent of the 69 cases involved drivers under 25. These figures concern that specific offence and period; they are not statistics about all crashes or road deaths.
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