Penelope Katsavos’ incredible gesture as her random attacker pleads guilty to brutal assault

It was a picture that sent shockwaves across Melbourne.

78-year-old Penelope Katsavos, on the ground, bloodied and bruised outside her church after she was randomly bashed by a man in the early hours of a Saturday morning, in March 2021.

There was community outrage.

She’d suffered bleeding on the brain, a fractured hip and broken wrist in the attack.

The man responsible, 27-year-old Amrick Roy, pleaded guilty to the South Yarra assault in court on Thursday.

But it was Penelope’s victim impact statement that captured Neil Mitchell’s attention on Friday.

Despite the attack “completely changing her life” and leaving her unable to most things she could before, Mrs Katsavos said she had forgiven the man who bashed her.

“I guess she doesn’t want to live out her life angry with somebody,” her daughter-in-law, Erin, told Neil Mitchell on Friday.

“She wants to spend whatever she’s got left in her life being happy and doing whatever she can with family and what she enjoys.”

Press PLAY below to her Erin explain why and how Penelope is doing