A teenager in Australia was charged with murder for allegedly killing his mother with a knife and attempting to stab his sister, who was able to run away and get help.
The 16-year-old boy from Bentley in Perth was charged with a count of murder and one count of attempting to unlawfully kill another on Wednesday.
The boy’s 35-year-old mother was found dead when police arrived at their Perth residence on Tuesday morning.
His 12-year-old sister suffered stab wounds but managed to escape to a nearby highway. The girl was given life-saving first aid by bystanders before she was taken by ambulance to the Children’s Hospital, where she remained in a critical but stable condition.
Police said they established two crime scenes after finding a 35-year-old woman’s body at her house at 6.25am and discovering an injured child some 600 metres away on a busy highway in Cannington.
“So she was injured at the Mills Street residence as well and she was able to flee that area and contact police,” Western Australia police acting inspector Jessica Securo said of the girl. “This incident will have a significant impact on the family, friends, and loved ones of all those involved. Our thoughts are with them all, particularly the 12-year-old girl.”
Ms Securo also said that there was no ongoing threat to the wider community. “A 16-year-old male who is the son of the deceased female and the brother of the injured girl has been taken into police custody,” she said. “While the investigation remains in its early stages, police are investigating this as a suspected family violence homicide.”
She said the homicide squad had taken charge of the investigation.
Ms Securo said investigators would examine all available evidence and speak to witnesses to piece together the circumstances surrounding what she described as a “confronting” incident.
According to the ABC, the incident caused traffic delays for hours, with the Albany highway closed north of the Westfield Carousel shopping centre.
A neighbour of the family who didn’t want to be identified told the broadcaster he was “extremely shocked, extremely surprised that something of this nature could happen”. “Quite disturbing to be honest,” he said.
Ms Securo said investigators would examine any previous interactions the family had with police and support services.
“That will form part of our investigation, to look at all incidents involving police, support services, and what led to this incident occurring,” she said. “The suspect is known to police, however we will explore any interactions that person has had with police.”
She said police believed that the woman lived with her two children and did not suspect anyone else was involved.
