NEIGHBOURS REVEAL SHOCKING DETAILS… – A mother accused of fatally harming her four-year-old son has appeared in court after police alleged she made disturbing references during the investigation. The court has now ordered forensic testing as authorities continue to examine the case.
A mother charged with the murder of her four-year-old son will be forced to submit to forensic testing after she allegedly made refereces to cannabalism.
A magistrate issued an interim order allowing forensic officers to take mouth swabs, blood samples and nail clippings from the 32-year-old woman.
The woman had attended Wyong police station on Saturday afternoon, with officers rushing to the home she shared with her son, finding his badly injured body inside.
Police on Sunday revealed they believe the little boy had been “deceased for some time”.
Tributes including a teddy bear, a stuffed Minion toy and flowers were placed outside the boy’s home on Monday, as locals spoke of their shock and grief.
A woman has been arrested after the body of an injured four-year-old boy was found in a NSW home. Picture: 7News
Local resident Brenton Hulm, 25, said the incident had impacted their local community.
“It’s kind of broken the community a little bit. It’s put a bit of a dampener on everyone. You can see people are quite upset in the area,” Mr Hulm told NewsWire.
“People are very, very upset because it was a little boy. Having a daughter myself, I couldn’t imagine doing anything like that to my kids.
“It’s obviously a little bit scary,” he said.
Mr Hulm, a fast food manager who has lived on the Central Coast for 20 years, described Wyong as a “relatively” quiet place which, like any community, has “good parts and bad parts”.
“(Wyong) is an interesting place. You’ve got your good parts and your bad parts … there’s certainly some places you don’t go at certain times,” he said.
“These things could happen anywhere”.
Tributes left outside the home where a young boy was allegedly murdered in Wyong. Picture: NewsWire / Jack Nivison
Local resident Brenton Hulm said residents have been left shocked at news of the boy’s death. Picture: NewsWire / Jack Nivison
Tuggerah Lakes Police District Commander Superintendent Chad Gillies on Sunday said the scene was “confronting” for the emergency services.
“My priority at the moment now is to work through the investigation with detectives to understand exactly what happened and why it happened, and importantly, as well, providing welfare to all the police that attended last night and through the investigation,” Supt Gillies said.
“Whenever a child is a victim of violent crime and whenever a child is murdered, it strikes at the core of community. That’s why it’s absolutely important we work through this methodically, we try to understand what’s happened, why it happened.
“From my perspective, we owe that to that little boy to make sure that we get the exact circumstances and present them to the court in due course, and that is the focus over the coming days and weeks for investigators.”
He added the woman was known to police.
Local police remained at the scene on Monday. Picture: NewsWire / Jack Nivison
“Now is a really tough time for family and the local community of Wyong, but that’s why it’s absolutely imperative that our police pull together and make sure that we do the absolute best job we can in really difficult circumstances.”
A NSW Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ) told the ABC it had previously had contact with the family.
“Given the matter remains the subject of an active NSW Police investigation, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage,” the department spokesperson said.
The woman was charged with murder (DV), and her case was heard briefly at the Bail Division Court on Sunday where no further details of the alleged crime were heard.
Superintendent Chad Gillies. Picture: Nine News
A neighbour told 9News he used to babysit the boy, describing him as “the happiest kid” he’d ever seen around that age.
The neighbour said he’d recently found a toy car left behind by the young boy, and he was planning on keeping it as a way to remember him.
“Even his toys, he’s left at my house. (He was an) angel of a kid, he used to come down, play with the dog 24/7,” the neighbour said.
A family friend said the boy was “very energetic”.
The woman did not apply for bail and it was refused, and she is due to next appear in court in September.
