Accused Melbourne CBD stabber attempts bail despite safety fears

Tuesday, 25 November 2025 18:57

Wan Lai had been walking on a footpath about 7.35am on October 2 when Darul allegedly ran up from behind and stabbed her in the upper body.

A woman accused of randomly stabbing a worker walking along a city street has pledged to clean up her act despite facing eviction from her community housing over safety fears.

Lauren Darul is seeking bail after she was charged with recklessly and intentionally causing injury and committing an offence while on bail for allegedly stabbing Wan Lai as she was on her way to work in central Melbourne.

It was revealed in Melbourne Magistrates Court hearing today that Darul's housing provider Unison had issued her with an eviction notice if she was granted bail, citing the risk of danger to community, other tenants and staff.

Lauren Darul is accused of a terrifying random attack on October 2, where she allegedly knifed a woman in the chest as she walked to work on Little Bourke Street.

Darul, who has been homeless or living in unstable accommodation throughout her life and experiences bipolar and schizoaffective disorders, had a long history of substance use, including alcohol, methylamphetamine and ice.

Constable Damian Elliott told the court these drug and alcohol dependencies would likely contribute to future offending.

"I want to clean up my life and stay off the drugs," Darul told the court over video link.

"I don't intend on going back on the ice."

But the crown prosecutor opposed her bail application, citing an unacceptable risk to the community if she was released and her history of alleged bail breaches.

The victim and her family were also extremely distressed by the possibility the accused would allowed back into the community.

Lai had been walking on a footpath about 7.35am on October 2 when Darul allegedly ran up from behind and stabbed her in the upper body.

A capture from the CCTV footage of a random stabbing attack in Melbourne's CBD in October

Emergency services arrived to find an extremely distressed Lai, who was taken to hospital with a punctured right lung and bleeding around the lung, Const Elliott told the court.

Darul, 32, was arrested 90 minutes later after officers tracked her down at her housing provider Unison, where she revealed a 10cm silver kitchen knife allegedly used in the attack.

Lai has been discharged and was getting better, but has relocated due to the ongoing psychological trauma she experiences from living near the location of her alleged stabbing.

Const Elliott said he believed the accused posed too great a risk to the community to be bailed, citing the brazen and unprovoked nature of the alleged stabbing and her propensity to flout bail.

The court was told Darul was subjected to bail or summons on 19 outstanding matters at the time of offending and had a criminal history that dated back to 2016, including multiple charges of motor and shop thefts and failing to comply with bail conditions.

But Darul's lawyer argued that she had a range of services on hand to support her if she is released on bail which can ameliorate the risk of reoffending.

Deputy Chief Magistrate Timothy Bourke will hand down his bail decision tomorrow.

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