SYDNEY // An Australian mother has been charged with the murder of eight children — seven of them hers — two days after their bodies were found in a home in the city of Cairns.
Police said the 37-year-old woman was charged on Sunday in a bedside hearing at a Cairns hospital, where she is recovering from stab wounds, with the murder of four girls and four boys, aged from 18 months to 15 years. The eighth child killed was the woman’s nice.
“It is simply eight counts of murder, one for each victim,” detective inspector Bruno Asnicar said, adding that the five fathers of the children had been informed.
He said police were investigating whether drug use was involved in the tragedy.
“I want to make clear I’m not dismissing it,” inspector Ansicar said. “I’m saying that I can’t discuss whether it’s true or not.”
Police have taken more than 100 witness statements. Autopsies of the children were expected to be completed later on Sunday.
Police did not identify the charged woman, citing the need to protect the identity of the children, a normal procedure in Australian criminal cases.
Police also noted that it was culturally insensitive and a breach of cultural protocols of the indigenous Torres Strait Islander community, to which the family belongs, to release the names and photos of the dead children.
Inspector Asnicar said police would be releasing less information about the case from now on as the charging of the mother meant it was now before the courts.
“It’s going to be a long hard road” to the bring the case to a conclusion, he said.
* Reuters
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Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
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Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.