When Masa didn't come home, her mum went looking for her. Then she heard a phone ringing in bushes.

It was a Tuesday evening in the quiet, suburban heart of Melbourne when 17-year-old Masa Vukotic decided to take her usual walk. She was a Year 12 student with bright aspirations of becoming a lawyer, known by those who knew her for her love of the colour pink and the fantastical world of cosplay.

She was a true princess in the eyes of her friends and family.

On that day, March 17 2015, Masa had attended classes, shared a meal with her loved ones, and chatted with her boyfriend, Timothy Draper, about which dress to wear to an upcoming formal.

She was planning the future, preparing for her normal evening ritual.

As the clock neared 6:00 PM, Masa slipped on her headphones, turned on her music, and set out for the Koonung Creek Linear Reserve. It was a safe, familiar park used by dog walkers and joggers.

Listen: True Crime Conversations on the murder of Masa Vukotic. Article continues after podcast.

She headed along the footpath and was expected home soon. She never arrived.

Michael Bachelard, journalist with The Age and host and creator of the recent four-part investigative podcast, Diagnosing Murder, said Masa's mother — Natasa Vukotic — was immediately on alert when her daughter didn't arrive home.

"At that time of year, it was still light, still daylight saving, and her mother started to get worried when Masa hadn't come home," he told Mamamia's True Crime Conversation podcast.

Consumed by worry, Natasa drove straight to the Koonung Reserve, knowing it was her daughter's walking route. She was met by a distressing sight: a cluster of police and paramedics. Neighbouring properties had heard screaming from the park and had called emergency services to the scene.

Natasa approached an officer and explained her daughter hadn't returned home.

"The police officer suggests that she call her phone. So her mother calls her, and in the bushes where the body is lying the phone rings," Bachelard said. "That's how they know that Masa is the victim."

The ensuing police investigation uncovered what occurred in the reserve at approximately 6:50 PM.

Masa, wearing her headphones and focused on her music, was suddenly ambushed on the path. She was dragged into the bushes and stabbed 49 times.

The perpetrator was identified as Sean Christian Price, a 31-year-old man who was on a violent rampage across Melbourne. He would continue his spree for another two days, including assaulting a man and sexually assaulting a woman in a bookshop, before finally turning himself into the police. 

Image: Facebook

The investigation revealed Price was a dangerous, violent sexual offender well-known to the justice system; he had spent most of his adult life incarcerated.

He had been released from prison on a supervision order when he murdered Masa.

Masa Vukotic's death became the catalyst for a major government review and led to the implementation of Masa's Law. The legislation introduced a series of stricter rules and detention orders to ensure dangerous offenders are prevented from posing a threat to the community.

In 2016, when discussing the introduction of Masa's Law, then-Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, acknowledged the system had failed the schoolgirl.

"The safety of Victorians has to be the number one priority, the central priority in our criminal justice system," Andrews said.

"As we all know, our system tragically failed Masa Vukotic and her family.

"When I spoke to Masa's mother after her tragic death at the hands of Sean Price… I told her we would honour her memory and we would fix this system, we would make sure that her daughter did not die in vain."

Bachelard said Masa's murder changed the landscape of Victoria.

"It has left its mark. It's left its mark in Melbourne. It came not that long after the murder of Jill Meagher," he said.

"I think it's fair to say that Masa's Law and those recommendations, and the existence of Sean Price, has made the authorities here more alert to the idea that certain people shouldn't be in the community."

Price was jailed for life over Masa's murder and is currently serving a minimum term of 41 years in prison. He will be in his 70s when he is first eligible for parole in 2055.

Feature Image: Facebook.