<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A heartbroken father collected broken earrings and damaged bracelets from the police, all that remains from his only daughter's last night alive.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They were like her body - broken, scarred and distorted," Michael Hodder told a court while holding back tears.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His youngest child, Melbourne model Elise Hodder, suffered a violent death last year at the hands of a drunk and high driver.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/kill-crew-trio-charged-with-kidnapping-and-murdering-alleged-drug-syndicate-members-wife/95a87355-f90b-494e-8a7c-af264c627225" target="_blank"><strong><span>'Kill crew' trio charged with murdering alleged drug syndicate member's wife</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 24-year-old was on the cusp of a successful career, having just featured in fashion magazine Vanguard and was due to head to Sydney for a well-paid job when her life was cut short.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After celebrating her best friend's birthday, Hodder was hit by Connor Mathiasson and became stuck under his Commodore until she fell unconscious and died.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two police officers talked to her as she lay under the vehicle "fighting for her life" but "struggling to survive", the County Court in Melbourne was told today.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/beloved-models-parents-grieve-violent-cruel-death/356f163c-dcf4-4a58-a95b-6fa821d92335" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hodder's mother said the nature of her daughter's death had made her grief "unbearable".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To learn Elise had been trapped under the car for hours ... I was overcome with grief," Pauline Hodder told the court as tears streamed down her face.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/mums-vaccine-plea-after-fit-athletic-daughter-almost-dies-from-meningococcal-b/475f67ce-49c7-4c78-81d2-3bb3f771a608" target="_blank"><strong><span>Mum's plea after athletic daughter almost dies from 'cruel' disease</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What a violent, cruel ending for my gentle, loving girl."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She had dropped Hodder off at a friend's house in Collingwood, and they headed to her best friend Emma Sword's birthday party on the evening she was killed.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She looked me in the eye and said, 'You're a special woman, mum, I love you'," Elise's mother said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I had no idea this was the last time I would ever see my daughter alive."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said it was "utterly traumatic" to recall police knocking on their door at 6am the next morning.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The devastated parents then had to identify Hodder's body, while Mathiasson had already been freed on bail.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"To then see her at the coroner's court, to hug and kiss her while knowing her offender was free, was unbearably cruel," Elise's father said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mathiasson, who has only spent one day behind bars after he was granted bail the day after the October 13, 2024, crash, also hit Swords and injured her when he drove into the group of friends inside a Kooyong car park.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Dozens of Hodder and Sword's loved ones filled the courtroom today as Mathiasson faced a pre-sentence hearing where emotional statements were read about the impact of his offending.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The then 23-year-old had been drinking at a rave and had cocaine and cannabis in his system when he got behind the wheel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A marked police car was inside the car park at the time, and two officers said they saw Mathiasson's vehicle drive "straight into a group of pedestrians", with Hodder dragged underneath the car and becoming stuck.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Swords told police she remembered walking and then getting hit "really hard" by the Commodore.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/most-of-white-house-east-wing-torn-down-photos-show/3580f2a7-6252-489d-8fcb-1433c92f52bb" target="_blank"><strong><span>Trump tears down nearly all of White House East Wing</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I feel like I heard a car rev really loud, but it just hit me so quick - I didn't see anything, I just felt it," she said in a statement read by prosecutor Neill Hutton.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It all happened so quick, we had only been out of the car for like 30 seconds."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The officers ran over and blocked Mathiasson's Commodore from leaving and asked why he did it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it. I didn't mean it," Mathiasson replied, the prosecutor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Police then turned to Hodder, who was still conscious but "fighting for her life" underneath the Commodore.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"With the weight of the vehicle on her, I felt all I could do was talk to her. My thoughts at the time were that her injuries were probably not survivable," one officer said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Mathiasson has pleaded guilty to culpable driving causing Hodder's death and negligently causing serious injury to Swords, who suffered broken ankles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He is facing up to 20 years behind bars.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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