- Three children and adult stabbed
- Trio rushed to hospital in stable condition
Police allege a father wrestled a knife from his wife as she tried to stab their children to death in the family home on Monday morning.
The father and three kids were sleeping in their bedrooms at the home in Jamieson Avenue, in Sydney‘s Baulkham Hills, when their mother allegedly launched her attack.
The father was woken by the children’s screams as his wife allegedly stabbed them, before police say he was able to take the knife from her.
NSW Police called to the scene found a 10-year-old boy, 13-year-old girl, 16-year-old girl and the 47-year-old mother all suffering serious knife injuries.
It is believed the eldest daughter is a paraplegic who requires a wheelchair.
The mother was stabbed three times in the stomach, the young boy was stabbed twice in the chest, and both girls were stabbed three times in the arm and stomach.
They were rushed to hospital where they are now in a stable condition.
In stark contrast to the horrific scene authorities were confronted with, a framed picture with the heartwarming caption, ‘This is my happy place’, was pictured in the home’s entrance.
Police and ambulance workers take one of the stabbed family members to hospital
Police have established a crime scene at the Baulkham Hills home
A photo in the house where the three children were stabbed
Police seized a household knife and arrested the mother in a suspected attempted triple murder and suicide attempt.
Hills Police Area Command Detective Superintendent Naomi Moore said police allege the mother was acting erratically in the days leading up to the attack and it is believed she was suffering a psychotic episode.
‘It’s a family home and that family is not known to police. No domestic violence incidents have ever been reported to police; it’s completely unexpected,’ Det Supt Moore said.
‘It’s certainly not something I want to wake up to on a Monday morning. It’s a tragic morning. Those children should make a full physical recovery.’
The mother was taken to hospital under police guard as a crime scene was established.
Det Supt Moore said the woman’s injuries were allegedly self-inflicted and although she was in a stable condition, she has not been interviewed by police.
One neighbour, who asked not to be identified, described the children as ‘friendly and lovely’.
She said the eldest child was in a wheelchair, which police confirmed.
Police are investigating multiple stabbings
Neighbours said the family ‘was quiet buy very friendly’
Another neighbour was in shock and couldn’t believe the stabbing had happened in the family home.
‘They are nice neighbours and quiet but very friendly. There’s no way we’d ever have expected something like this to happen,’ the neighbour said.
‘We didn’t hear a sound and slept through the whole thing until we heard the police sirens.
‘We really feel for Josh. He’s such a nice, normal lovely man and he always used to stop by for a chat whenever we saw him in the street.’
The Hills Shire Council Mayor Michelle Byrne said the incident was ‘devastating’ for the local community.
‘As a mum and a mayor, my heart breaks for those children,’ she said.
