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Eight children killed in Australia in reported mass stabbing
By Matt Siegel
SYDNEY Fri Dec 19, 2014 2:48am EST
(Reuters) - Eight children have been killed and a woman who was mother to seven of them was injured in the northern Australian city of Cairns, police said on Friday, in what several media outlets reported was a mass stabbing.
Australia is in a state of heightened alert after police stormed a Sydney cafe early on Tuesday to end a 16-hour hostage standoff in which three people were killed, including the hostage-taker.
Queensland state police said in a statement they were called to a house in the Cairns suburb of Manoora just before midday after reports of a woman with serious injuries on the premises.
They found the bodies of the children, aged between 18 months and 15 years, when they were examining the location.
Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said police believed the woman was the mother of seven of the children.
"There is no formal suspect," Asnicar told reporters.
"We are talking to a range of people. Anybody who has had any involvement in the past two or three days is a person of interest," he said.
The woman, aged 34, was receiving treatment for her injuries, police said, and was assisting them with their investigation.
Forensics officers have locked down the scene and there has been no formal identification of the children.
While unrelated to the mass stabbing in tropical Cairns, the Sydney siege has triggered an outpouring of grief, with shocked Australians laying thousands of bouquets of flowers at a makeshift shrine in a central city mall near the siege cafe.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the events in Cairns "heartbreaking" and acknowledged that these were "trying days" for Australia.
"All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened. This is an unspeakable crime. Tonight, there will be tears and prayers across our country for these children," he said in a media release.
Police in Cairns urged calm.
"There is no need for the public to be concerned about this, other than it is a tragic, tragic event," Asnicar said.
"The situation is well controlled at the moment and there shouldn't be any concerns for anyone else," he said.
Specialist officers were being sent from Brisbane, the state capital, to assist with the investigation, Asnicar said.
Media outlets reported that the neighborhood was predominantly inhabited by indigenous Aboriginal Australians, and was known by residents to have a high crime rate.
(Additional reporting by Jane Wardell; Editing by Paul Tait and Robert Birsel)
EIGHT brothers and sisters between the ages of 18 months and 15 years found stabbed to death in their Australian home
Horrifying massacre at a Cairns home just six days before Christmas
Police found the bodies of eight children at the Manoora home
It is understood the children were stabbed and suffocated inside the house
A 34-year-old woman has been taken to Cairns Base Hospital with stab wounds
Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said that the woman was the mother of seven of the dead children with the other child a relation
The woman's shocked cousin Lisa Thaiday could only mourn for the dead children
By Daniel Piotrowski and Candace Sutton and Richard Shears and Sarah Michael and John Carney and Heather Mcnab for Daily Mail Australia and Australian Associated Press
Published: 02:42 GMT, 19 December 2014 | Updated: 14:36 GMT, 19 December 2014
A relative has told of her horror after the bodies of eight children, believed to be siblings aged between 18 months and 15-years-old, were found dead at a Cairns home following a massacre just six days before Christmas.
It is understood the children were stabbed and suffocated inside the house. A woman, 34, was also rushed to hospital in a critical condition with stab wounds to her chest but was assisting police.
Cairns Regional Crime Co-ordinator Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said that the woman was the mother of seven of the dead children and the other child was related. He described the massacre as a 'tragic and traumatic event'.
The woman's devastated cousin, Lisa Thaiday earlier told reporters the woman was the children's mother. 'I just can't believe it,' she said. 'Those poor babies.'
Manoora, around 4km west of the coastal town's main tourist strip, is a suburb that historically has suffered a bad reputation and high crime rates. In June, media revealed the suburb was at the centre of a secret government report into youth sexual abuse and domestic violence.
'Those poor babies': A shocked cousin, Lisa Thaiday, 34, expressed disbelief at the killings
Police secure the crime scene in the Manoora suburb of Cairns
Distress: A woman, believed to be a neighbour, was seen visibly distressed near the Manoora property after eight children were confirmed dead
Police on the scene: A 34-year-old woman was taken to hospital with stab wounds to her chest. She was in a critical condition
Neighbours and police comfort each other on Murray St, near the scene of the horrifying crime
The Australian city of Cairns has a population of 160,000 people and is in the far north of Queensland
Cairns Regional Crime Co-ordinator Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar speaks to media at the scene
Details about what investigators found inside the house have not been revealed but a neighbour said she had been told there were bloody scenes 'everywhere' inside. Officers who arrived first on the scene said it was like 'something out of a horror movie'.
Specialist police officers are now on their way from Brisbane to help with the situation including senior Homicide Squad detectives as well as forensic and child trauma specialists. The crime scene is completely locked down and there are no formal suspects as yet.
'There's not much else we can say, but we have a range of strategies in place to support the family through this very difficult time,' Detective Inspector Asnicar said.
'It's a tragic and traumatic with so many deceased in one place. It's right up there with some of the most serious things I've ever had to deal with.'
Ms Thaiday said another sibling, a 20-year-old man, arrived home to discover his brothers and sisters dead inside the house.
He is now being consoled by other family members.
'I'm going to see him now, he needs comforting,' Ms Thaiday said. She described the family and extended relatives as close-knit and many live in surrounding suburbs.
'We're a big family and most of us are from the (Torres) Strait,' she said, adding that she rushed to the scene after hearing about the incident on the radio.
A 13-year-old girl said she walked two of her girlfriends to the Murray Street house on Thursday evening after they had been shopping.
She said when they got to the house, the older girl's mother came out and gave her money for a taxi home.
'She was saying stuff about God and other stuff,' she told AAP near the crime scene on Friday afternoon. She said: 'Papa God gave me the power to do anything.'
The woman also told the girl she was a 'warrior'.
Police carry flowers to the scene of the multiple stabbing in the suburb of Manoora in Cairns
Flowers were left up against a fence across the road from the scene of the massacre
As the day went on more and more people lay flowers near the scene of the tragedy in Cairns
The woman who is now at the centre of the family massacre in Cairns was also ‘happy go lucky and seemed to really love her kids’, Daily Mail Australia has been told.
Robert Struber, who lived for 20 years in the house where the deaths took place, said he had spoken with the 34-year-old on several occasions while visiting his former neighbours.
He said the last time he had seen the mother, a few months ago, she was ‘friendly and happy to chat’ and that she had mainly looked after her large family and 'seemed to really love her kids’.
Mr Struber said he hadn't met the father of the children.
He said the street had a mixture of Aboriginal families and people from the Torres Strait and Cook Islands. He moved out of the four bedroom house two years ago because it was too large, and said that following the tragedy he ‘never wanted to go back inside it’.
ABC reported that a relative of the children, Larry Woosup, said the adults who lived in the house were his niece and nephew.
'I just heard about it. My family just rang because they're worried about our sister,' he said.
'Some of them are my sister's kids. I just got a phone call from my son's mother from down in Mackay because they had seen the news flash down there.
'This is a close neighbourhood. I'm desperate like everyone else to hear [what happened].'
Neighbour Bessie Mareko said she saw the 34-year-old woman and a number of children at 2:00am on Friday morning cleaning up their home and putting unwanted items on the street.
Rebecca Levers who lives six doors down from the family on Murray Street, could not understand why this tragedy happened.
‘They moved in about a year ago. They seemed really normal to me, I never heard of any trouble with them,’ she said.
‘It’s heartbreaking knowing there were kids involved, I think it’s a big shock to the community.
‘I’ve been here for seven years and it’s the first time there’s ever been a big crime like this.’
Both young and old came to place floral tributes for those that died at Murray Street in Manoora
Lit candles, flowers and toys are just some of the things that have been placed across the road from where the multiple stabbings took place
Local people attended a candlelight vigil in Manoora near where the massacre happened
The candlelight vigil gave the people living in Manoora a chance to grieve
Cairns City Church held a vigil for the victims of the tragedy on Thursday night, with Pastor Michael Dalla Vecchia calling on the people of Cairns to 'stick together as a community'.
The Bishop of Cairns James Foley also issued a statement about the tragedy.
'To say this has been a dreadful week is almost an obscene understatement: the Sydney siege; an 18 year old taken by a shark off Pt. Douglas; the Pakistan school massacre; and on Friday’s 1pm radio news the headline that eight children had been stabbed at a Cairns suburb - Manoora. And all this in the week before Christmas,' the statement said.
'Yet, as we saw in the aftermath of the Sydney siege, the very worst some people can do - may bring out the very best in so many more.'
Police said it would be several hours before forensic officers would be able to complete their work inside the house - while detectives continued inquiries to establish what had led up to the slaughter.
Detectives rushed to the house in Murray Street at about 11.20am on Friday after they received reports a woman had suffered serious injuries.
The street has been branded a crime scene and the area has been locked down. Their home is a rented Housing Commission residence.
CAIRNS KILLINGS: STATEMENT FROM PRIME MINISTER TONY ABBOTT
The news out of Cairns is heartbreaking.
All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened.
This is an unspeakable crime.
These are trying days for our country.
Tonight, there will be tears and prayers across our country for these children.
My thoughts are with the Queensland Police and all who have to respond to this terrible situation.
A view of a window of the house where the mass stabbing took place in the suburb of Manoora in Cairns
Paramedics seen leaving the house appeared distraught at the sight
Crime scene: Police have confirmed eight children aged between 18 months and 15 years have been found at a home in Manoora, west of Cairns
Pictured: Murray St, Manoora, where the incident allegedly occurred
Manoora is located west of the main Cairns tourist strip
Seven News reporter Georgina McKerrow told Sky News a step-father was also believed to be living at the premises.
In a statement released on Friday afternoon, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: 'This is an unspeakable crime... these are trying days for our country.'
Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said he was 'deeply saddened and shocked' by the events.
'Indeed, the whole Cairns community and the people of Queensland will feel the effects of this tragedy, particularly at a time of year when families come together,' he said.
Shocked people have already turned to social media to express their disbelief at the second major tragedy to strike Australia in just a week.
Murray St is located in a community housing-dominated area. The Cairns Post has described the street in the past as 'notorious' for crime and anti-social behaviour.
In July Murray Street was one of four identified by Cairns Regional Council as in need of permanent surveillance by CCTV cameras to ensure the safety of residents.
About 20 to 30 people, including neighbours and locals, could be seen to be visibly upset and comforting each other at the scene.
Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar described the horror crime as a 'tragic, tragic incident'. He could not say whether the children all belonged to the same family.
He told reporters the woman is not in police custody. He said it was not yet clear who had called emergency services.
In a statement, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said: 'I am deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic events in Cairns today.'
'My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those concerned,' adding that he had asked ministers to ensure emergency services were given the support they need.
'The whole Cairns community and the people of Queensland will feel the effects of this tragedy, particularly at a time of year when families come together.'
Mr Newman encouraged Queenslanders who need support to reach out and seek professional assistance if needed.
In a tweet, Lifeline said: 'All Australians have been deeply saddened & shocked by a number of events this week. Please remember that we're here 24/7 for support on 13 11 14'.
