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In a horrific case of abuse, a mother reportedly confessed to murdering her four-year-old son, but what emergency responders discovered after finding the body was even more disturbing.
After the mother, 32, who allegedly had a long history of substance abuse, handed herself into Wyong Police Station on Saturday, July 4, law enforcement officials raced to her home in a quiet coastal town in Eastern Australia.
What they discovered at the scene was so shocking that the emergency responders were offered support services.
The child had been dead for a number of days and was found with “significant arm injuries” that allegedly suggested she had tried to eat his body.
Superintendent Chad Gillies described the scene as “extremely confronting”.
He said: “It’s been confirmed the child had injuries. I am not going to speculate further on what those injuries are.” However, authorities have launched an investigation which will examine the mother’s saliva, blood, nail clippings, and residue beneath her fingernails.
The woman was arrested and charged with murder the following day.
According to police, the mother and son had moved to the housing complex just five months ago to escape domestic violence.
The mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, reportedly had a notorious drug problem and was kicked out by her own family because of it.
Previous court documents show that her own mother and another male relative took out court orders to protect themselves from her abuse. She has long been known to police and even had her driver’s license confiscated last year.
Neighbors living in the friendly housing complex were devastated after hearing about the horror that had occurred on their doorstep.
Harley Chislett, a neighbor who used to babysit the young boy, told News7 that he heard what he thought at the time was an ordinary argument between the mother and son in the days before the boy was found dead.
He said: “I thought it was just a typical mother and son argument, just a bit of screaming and carrying on.”
Tragically, he also described the child as “the happiest kid I’ve seen around at that age.”
A post-mortem is set to be carried out this week, and the mother will appear in court on September 1.
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A Montana mother, who has been accused of killing her five-year-old son after allegedly suffocating him with a plastic bag, gave investigators a chilling four-word response after his murder.
Kathryn Garaas is facing charges in connection with the death of her son, Reign Tyler Blair, whose body was discovered inside their home near Whitehall, roughly 60 miles northwest of Bozeman.
Garaas reportedly believed she was trying to “save him because things would have only gotten so much worse.”
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the residence on April 24 after reports of a medical emergency.
KRTV reported that the child’s father had requested a welfare check after receiving a disturbing message from Garaas.
When deputies arrived at the property, Garaas reportedly answered the door and chillingly told officers, “He’s in his room.”
Inside, authorities found the young boy with a plastic bag over his head, according to court documents. Deputies attempted lifesaving measures, but Reign was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Investigators say that during questioning, Garaas allegedly explained her actions by saying she wanted to “save him because things would have only gotten so much worse.”
In an interview with KRTV, Colleen Much, who organized a GoFundMe for the family, said Garaas had previously been separated from them. However, she had recently been staying with Reign and his father for several weeks before the incident occurred.
“I cannot and will absolutely not pretend to claim we have even a remote understanding of the reasoning behind this, or what occurred,” Much wrote on the fundraiser page. “We pray for answers that may never come, and when they do, no healing will come of it.”
She also described the deep bond between Reign and his father, writing: “Reign is his purpose, his love, and his life from the moment he took his first breath.” Much added that despite the tragedy, the child’s life had been filled with “love, laughter, and precious joy.”
Garaas is expected to be arraigned on a deliberate homicide charge on June 10. She remains in custody on a $5 million bond.
A mom who turned in her own son to police for murder has said she has no regrets over her decision.
The Daily Mail reported how Donna Delbono, 42, decided to hand over her 19-year-old son Joshua to the police after learning that he had stabbed a young teen in the UK's Somerset region in July 2022.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Joshua is now set to serve a minimum of 21 years in prison for the shocking incident, which saw 16-year-old Charley Bates lose his life.
Delbono - a mother to seven - expressed to the outlet that her choice was "the hardest choice any parent will ever have to make."
"I was brought up to know the difference between right and wrong, and to always try to do the right thing in life, no matter how hard it is. Even though it was such a tough choice to make, I know I'd do the same again," the mother told The Mail.
"I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd chosen instead not to call the police. I feel terrible that Charley Bates lost his life and my sympathies go out to his family," she added.
Joshua was sentenced last week in a Bristol court, following a guilty verdict after a two-week trial. He will now leave his job as a bricklayer and head to prison in the coming weeks.
During the trial, the emergency police call made by Joshua's mother was played for the court, in which she is heard saying: "My son's killed someone. It was at Radstock earlier. He's just come back and I've found out. He's in my house now but I can't let him go anywhere."
According to the teen's mother, her daughter Jade had told her that Joshua confided in her that he'd killed Bates on a night out with friends.
Delbono told the outlet that Joshua had stabbed Bates - whom he'd never met - left the vicinity and headed home to bed. Upon discovering the disturbing information, Delbono had woken her son, at which time he confessed to everything: "I said there was only one thing he could do - hand himself in to the police."
He had been too scared to phone the authorities himself, so Delbono had called on her son's behalf. "My son will have to live with this for the rest of his life," she said.
It was during the trial that the court heard how the dispute leading up to Bates' stabbing was with Delbono's friends over money. Then, when a fight broke out, both groups became embroiled in a fight and Joshua stabbed the victim in his chest.
During the sentencing, Bristol Crown Court Judge William Hart remarked: "Let me say to all who hear my remarks of the damage that is caused by carrying knives. What happened that day cast a horrible shadow over everyone."
The parents of the Westfield Mall perpetrator who fatally stabbed several people have recalled the moment they knew their son was a murderer.
As previously reported, six people lost their lives on Saturday (April 13) after a knifeman identified as Joel Cauchi carried out a deadly attack at Westfield Shopping Centre in Bondi Junction.
The victims were five women named Jade Young, 47, Pikria Darchia, 55, Dawn Singleton, 25, Ashlee Good, 38, and Yixuan Cheng, as well as a 30-year-old male security guard named Faraz Tahir.
Numerous others were also critically injured in the heartbreaking incident, including Good's nine-month-old baby.
Following the shocking events, the 40-year-old suspect's parents, Andrew and Michele Cauchi - who are in their 70s and live in Toowoomba - opened up about their son's behavior prior to the attack.
Five weeks before Joel armed himself with a knife, he sent his mom a video message of Coogee Beach with the caption: "Mom, I just want to show you how beautiful Coogee Beach [is]," according to ABC.
The message offered the concerned parents a sense of relief as they had been desperately trying to make contact with their youngest child. In fact, that same day his worried mom had contacted his bank, asking: "I don't want to know what's in his account. I just want to know my son's still alive. Is he still using his account?"
However, the parents had no idea that their son, who had suffered from schizophrenia for all of his adult life, was teetering on the edge and that the last time they'd get an update was from national television.
Andrew and Michele called the police after realizing that the man on a murderous rampage at the shopping mall was Joel, per News.com.au.
"I walked in, and my wife said, 'It looks like Joel.' I said, 'It does a bit,' but he had his head down," Andrew said. "So I watched and watched and watched."
The Cauchis disclosed that their late son, who graduated from the University of Southern Queensland, decided to stop taking mental health medication after 18 years of treatment.
"When he came off [the medication], it was like it had all lifted from him and he wanted to have a life," his mom said. "After living at home until he was 35, he went to Brisbane, so he wasn’t with his doctor anymore."
The attacker moved between Brisbane, Toowoomba, and the Gold Coast before informing his parents that he lost his Brisbane rental in January 2023.
Andrew picked his son up and allowed him to move back home. But problems soon arose after the father refused to allow Joel to keep his deadly United States Army combat knives in the house.
The dad recalled this devasting moment, sharing: "I said to Joel, 'You can stay here as long as you like, but you are not going to have these in my house.' So I took them off him, knowing that there was going to be pandemonium in my house but I was willing to put up with it."
Joel shockingly called the authorities on his family, alleging that they had stolen his knives before driving to Tweed Heads the following day to purchase himself more.
As police continue to search for a motive behind the horrific killing spree, Joel's distraught parents have apologized for their son’s actions on multiple occasions.
Andrew said he was "heartbroken" and "extremely sorry" for the victims, and told reporters: "He's my son. And I'm loving a monster - to you, he's a monster. To me, he was a very sick boy," per Sky News.
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