Breaking: Boy charged with murdering mother, attempting to kill sister in Perth

Lead

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murdering his mother and attempting to kill his sister in an alleged domestic violence homicide at the family home in Perth's south-east. The boy was taken into custody at the scene and charged with one count of murder and one count of attempting to unlawfully kill, as reported by multiple sources.

Coverage Comparison

ABC Australia reported that two crime scenes were established after the 35-year-old woman's body was found in a house on Mills Street in Bentley about 6:25am on Tuesday. A 12-year-old girl was also found injured on Albany Highway in Cannington, about 600 metres away from the home. The Guardian reported that the boy allegedly killed his mother with a knife and stabbed his little sister, who managed to flee the house and get help. Bystanders provided the girl with life-saving first aid, and she was taken by ambulance to Perth Children's Hospital, where she remains in a serious but stable condition, according to The Guardian.

Key Claims

• Charges: A 16-year-old boy was charged on Wednesday with one count of murder and one count of attempting to unlawfully kill, as reported by both ABC Australia and The Guardian.
• Incident Location: The incident occurred at a family home in Bentley, in Perth's south-east, with a body found at the residence and the girl found injured nearby in Cannington, according to ABC Australia.
• Victims: The mother, aged 35, was found dead by police when they arrived at the family home, as reported by The Guardian. The 12-year-old girl was stabbed but managed to escape and call for help, according to both outlets.
• Girl's Condition: The 12-year-old girl is in a serious but stable condition in Perth Children's Hospital, as reported by ABC Australia. The Guardian described her condition as critical but stable.
• Police Response: WA Police Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo said the girl managed to escape the residence and call police after she was allegedly stabbed by her brother, as reported by ABC Australia. Police are investigating the incident as a suspected family violence homicide, and the boy is due to face Perth Children's Court.

Perspectives

Family Violence Advocates

Family violence advocates are calling for greater specialist support to address a reported increase in adolescent violence in the home, as reported by ABC Australia. Jolene Ellat, chief executive of the Domestic Abuse Resource and Training Group (DART), said demand for training and support around adolescent violence in the home had grown over the past 12 months. “Organisations are coming to us, seeking adolescent violence in the home training for their practitioners on the ground, who are reporting that there's more abusive behaviours demonstrated inside the home,” she said. “This is not general teenage conflict. There's cohesive control, there are family members that are in fear or are shifting behaviours because they're worried about how a young person is going to respond.”

WA Police Commissioner

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said police had seen an increase in family violence reports, many of which involved children using violence against their parents, as reported by ABC Australia. “We know in Western Australia and across Australia and probably across the world, we're seeing a significant escalation of family violence reports to police across the board,” he said.