A 12-year-old girl with stab wounds got out of her family’s home in Bentley, Perth, and made it to a busy highway in Cannington, about 600 metres away. Bystanders gave her first aid there. Her mother was already dead at the house.
Police charged the girl’s 16-year-old brother on Wednesday with one count of murder and one count of attempting to unlawfully kill another person. Officers had found the 35-year-old woman’s body at 6.25am the day before, at the Mills Street residence, and set up two crime scenes. The Independent reported that the mother was allegedly killed with a knife and that her son then tried to stab his sister.
An ambulance took the girl to the Children’s Hospital. She remained in a critical but stable condition.
What police said
Western Australia police acting inspector Jessica Securo told reporters the girl was hurt at the house and “was able to flee that area and contact police.” She said the boy, the son of the dead woman and brother of the injured girl, was taken into custody.
“While the investigation remains in its early stages, police are investigating this as a suspected family violence homicide,” Securo said. The homicide squad has taken charge. She said there was no ongoing threat to the wider community and that police did not suspect anyone else was involved. Officers believe the woman lived with her two children.
Securo called the incident “confronting” and said investigators would interview witnesses and go through all available evidence. That includes any earlier dealings the family had with police and support services. “The suspect is known to police,” she said, “however we will explore any interactions that person has had with police.”
On the scene
The ABC reported that the Albany Highway was closed north of the Westfield Carousel shopping centre, and traffic was held up for hours. A neighbour who did not want to be named told the broadcaster he was “extremely shocked, extremely surprised that something of this nature could happen.” He called it “quite disturbing to be honest.”
Securo had a message for the people closest to the case: “Our thoughts are with them all, particularly the 12-year-old girl.”
