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This was published 8 years ago
By Kim Stephens
Updated
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Shattered friends of a young woman who died in hospital after she was found unconscious in her Windsor apartment have described her as a "vibrant, infectious personality" who made everyone feel like her best friend.
Melanie Floyd, 28, succumbed to severe head injuries in the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital on Saturday, after her family made the heartbreaking decision to switch off her life support.
Her death came four days after her 24-year-old boyfriend called emergency services to her home, saying he woke up to find her unconscious on her bed.
The man has since refused to co-operate with police, who are now treating the case as a murder investigation.
Melanie's friend Mandy Onassis said the hospitality worker was "the life of the party" who befriended almost everyone she met.
"She was a vibrant, strong and very popular person, very good at her job, well respected, everybody loved her," Ms Onassis said.
"I don't know of anyone who didn't absolutely enjoy her. She was very awesome to hang out with."
Ms Onassis met the New Zealand native when both worked at Fortitude Valley nightclub The Met in 2010 and she said the pair quickly became close friends.
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She said Melanie's friendship circle was wide, simply because most people regarded her as one of the nicest people they had ever met.
"She has had a lot of really great friends, at the hospital she had a lot of support and every single person who has been there has had a very strong connection to her, which is a pretty big testament to what kind of person she was," Ms Onassis said.
"She had a lot of best friends."
Ms Onassis said the young woman's wide friendship group were struggling to come to terms with her violent end and the enormous hole her loss would leave in their lives.
"She was just a fun, social, energetic person, a very loyal friend with a great sense of humour, she was a really funny person and she just had a really vibrant personality," Ms Onassis said.
Tributes have also flowed from disbelieving friends on social media, with one, Simon Squire, writing "the world lost one of its brightest stars on Saturday".
"Melanie Floyd was not only a friend to so many, she was also like a big sister or in my case little sister to so many," he said.
Ms Onassis established an online fundraising page to help the young woman's family, most of whom flew from interstate and overseas to be at her bedside, cover her funeral expenses.
A funeral date has not been set.
The page raised more than $5000 within two hours on Sunday, which, Ms Onassis said, was further testament to the indelible mark Melanie left upon her friends.
On Sunday, police investigating Melanie's suspected murder said they were keeping an open mind as to how she suffered the head injuries that claimed her life but said her boyfriend continued to maintain his silence.
Nine News reported the 24-year-old man is a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, who has engaged the services of a lawyer.
It is hoped a post-mortem examination of Melanie's body on Monday will shed more light on how she suffered her injuries.
Police have also appealed for anyone who might have information that could assist the investigation to contact them, saying a member of the public might hold the key to solving the crime.
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Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or go to crimestoppers.com.au
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