Mathiasson pleaded guilty on Friday in the County Court to one charge of culpable driving causing
death and one charge of negligently causing serious injury.
Elise Hodder had died from the chest injuries she suffered while being trapped under the car next to Sir Zelman Cowen Park, the court heard. The attending officers chose not to remove her from the car, concluding it would cause more suffering for the young woman.
Elise Hodder with her parents, Michael and Pauline Hodder.
Mathiasson recorded a blood-alcohol reading of 0.213 per cent and tested positive for cannabis and cocaine. He was arrested at the car park soon after striking Elise, Swords and their uninjured friend. Witnesses recalled him apologising repeatedly.
Several of Elise’s family and friends read victim impacts statements on Friday during the plea hearing, including her brothers, Max and James, and parents Michael and Pauline. Swords and her mother also spoke.
They each talked about how special, loved, kind and irreparably missed Elise is. Her sister-in-law loved her fierce principles and kind nature. Her mother remembered her love for the outdoors.
Elise was kind, joyful, passionate, caring. She always stood up for what she believed in. The model and lifesaver had a passion for social justice, and dreamed of one day becoming a social or disability worker.
Elise Hodder.
Michael Hodder was beyond proud of his youngest child, his only daughter. “She was always there for us when we needed her. Elise was an angel and made our lives better, happier and more fulfilled,” he said.
Again and again, the court was told about the incomprehensible loss of their friend, sister, niece and daughter. Her father is haunted by her final hours alive, trapped and terrified. Falling asleep is a near impossible task for her brother, James. Her best friend of two decades said the grief felt like drowning.
“I … collected her belongings from the police; her handbag, phone, damaged bracelets and earrings. They were like her body: broken, scarred and destroyed,” Michael said.
Swords told the court she was terrified to be in the same room as Mathiasson. She fears the long-term effects her injuries will have on her body and mourns the person she used to be. But most of all, Swords is devastated and traumatised by the death of her best friend.
“I miss her so much and my heart aches endlessly for her family who lost their daughter and sister,” Swords said.
Swords, who was wheelchair-bound for 10 weeks and had to undergo two rounds of reconstructive surgery, was horrified to learn Mathiasson had been granted bail.
“Elise lost her life because of him. I am living in agony because of him,” Swords said.
Friends began shaking their heads as the court heard how much alcohol Mathiasson had consumed before he got behind the wheel of his car.
Connor Mathiasson leaves Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in October 2024.Credit: Nine News
Mathiasson, whose father and brother also attended the hearing, has been out on bail but was remanded in custody on Friday ahead of his sentencing hearing.
His barrister, Rishi Nathwani, KC, told the court the 23-year-old was traumatised by his own actions and held deep regret.
He attributed Mathiasson’s drinking that day to a recent heartbreak, claiming it was his first night out since his girlfriend had broken up with him weeks earlier.
At an earlier hearing, the court was told Mathiasson had developed a cannabis addiction as a result of his mother’s death when he was a teenager, and was self-medicating for “significant and unresolved” mental health issues.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
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