‘Extremely confronting’: Cannibalism probe after Australian mum charged with son's murder
New South Wales police are investigating whether cannibalism was involved in the “extremely confronting” death of a preschooler.
A mother has been charged with murder after the body of her 4-year-old son was found at a Wyong property in the Central Coast of New South Wales.
Police said they were concerned for the child’s safety after the 32-year-old woman arrived at Wyong Police Station on Saturday afternoon on her own accord, with local media reporting that she allegedly made a reference to cannibalism.
When police conducted a welfare check at a Byron St property, they found the boy’s body with significant arm injuries.
Police are trying to determine if the boy had been “deceased for some time”, while the coroner is set to conduct a post-mortem to determine the cause of the boy’s death.
“I’m prepared to say publicly at the moment, it was an extremely confronting scene,” Superintendent Chad Gilles from Tuggerah Lakes Police said in a press conference on Sunday morning.
“My priority at the moment now is to work through the investigation with detectives to understand exactly what happened and why it happened, and importantly, as well, providing welfare to all the police that attended last night and through the investigation.
“Whenever a child is a victim of violent crime and whenever a child is murdered, it strikes at the core of community. That’s why it’s absolutely important we work through this methodically, we try to understand what’s happened, why it happened.”
Police at the crime scene on Sunday. Photo / Nine News
The Sydney Morning Herald reported multiple accounts from neighbours on the mother and son.
“[The boy] was all happy; seen him walking the dog and walking up and down the street. He was very energetic,” a man, who had previously done work on the woman’s car, told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“[The boy] goes ‘oh you’re working on mum’s car, has she broken it again’?. He was happy. We couldn’t see any signs of anything.”
The mother and son had reportedly moved into the rental property earlier this year, allegedly following domestic violence between the woman and an ex-partner, according to neighbours.
“It’s a shocking situation,” another neighbour reportedly said.
The woman, previously known to police, was arrested at the police station and charged on Sunday with murder (domestic violence).
Her case was heard briefly at the Bail Division Court on Sunday. She did not apply for bail and it was refused, and she is due to appear in court in September.
Take your Radio, Podcasts and Music with you
Get the iHeart App
Get more of the radio, music and podcasts you love with the FREE iHeart app. Scan the QR code to download now.
Download from the app stores
Stream unlimited music, thousands of radio stations and podcasts all in one app. iHeart is easy to use and all FREE
