Tear-jerking moment: Woman who was bashed outside church is reunited with her husband

Penelope, the woman bashed in a horrific attack outside a South Yarra church on the weekend, has returned home.

Neil Mitchell has been sent tear-jerking footage of her reunion with 83-year-old husband, Thomas.

He is 83, and Penelope is his full-time carer.

• Scroll down for video of the emotional reunion.

“When you see and hear his reaction you understand how important it was to help this woman,” Neil Mitchell said of the footage.

“If this doesn’t bring a tear to your eye you haven’t got eyes.”

Penelope’s daughter-in-law, Erin Katsavos, said the reunion brought her to tears.

“Because he has dementia we weren’t able to get him to understand where she was or what has happened,” she told Neil Mitchell.

“My heart was breaking into a million pieces because he was wandering around the house looking for her, and there was just nothing we could do.”

Press PLAY below to watch the emotional video.

 

A council worker who stopped to help Penelope after the assault says he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw her bloodied on the street.

“How could this happen? How could a beautiful woman like this just be left there?,” Richard Pavlovsky said to Neil Mitchell.

“I stayed with her for about 20 minutes until the ambulance came.”

Penelope’s daughter-in-law says the family can’t thank Mr Pavlovsky enough.

“We don’t really have any words to express how grateful we are for you stopping, for caring, for making her feel safe,” she said.

Press PLAY below for more.