SHE KNEW SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAD HAPPENED..! – A NEIGHBOUR RECALLS HEARING A CHILD’S SCREAMS BEFORE POLICE RUSHED IN TO SAVE A BL00D-SOAKED TODDLER.

How cops saved, shielded blood-soaked child at outback murder-suicide scene

A police officer held a toddler in his arms for at least half an hour after risking his life to rescue her from a home that hours later became the scene of a suspected murder-suicide.

A hero police officer comforted a blood-soaked toddler after risking his life to rescue her from a home that hours later became the scene of a suspected murder-suicide.

Police in the outback Queensland town of Charleville were first called to the King St home about 5.30pm on Wednesday and were immediately confronted by a “what was clearly quite a violent crime scene”, Southern Region Assistant Commissioner Matthew Vanderbyl said.

Julia Brunsdon and Michael Waltke died at the scene.

The scene became quite threatening to police quickly but as they began retreating to safety officers noticed a toddler at the front of the home.

Police then charged back into the danger to rescue the blood-soaked child.

“It’s extraordinary and I don’t profess to know the full details of that but I will be finding that out because police put themselves in harm’s way every day… and once I know more about that I’ll look to acknowledge that,” Mr Vanderbyl said.

Neighbour Summa Purvis said the officer then held the child for “a good half hour”.

“He was just casually holding her in front of the house behind the (police) car,” she said.

The blood was not the child’s own, with police confirming the little girl was taken to hospital and was unharmed.

A crime scene is in place at the King St property. Picture Zachary Probert

Neighbour Mackenzie-Grace Smith said: “The way (the police officer) was holding her was … as you would hold a baby, but he had his arms wrapped around her, with his hand making sure she wasn’t actually facing what was happening.

“He’s standing with himself facing everything, but he’s got her looking away as if trying to protect her.”

Ms Smith said the child, who appeared to be calm, was held by the officer for around 30 minutes to an hour.

“She was absolutely quiet. She didn’t look like anything was wrong,” she said.

“It could also be another factor that she was so calm because she was young, she didn’t know what was happening.

“She had blood literally splattered all over her shirt. It was bloodstained everywhere.

Police declared a PSPA after they were called to a property on King Street in Charleville.

While this was unfolding police negotiators and specialist officers had been called up, with a dramatic siege then unfolding at the property over hours with fears there were guns in the home.

Neighbouring streets were locked down as a safety measure.

Police entered the home about 1am, where they found the bodies of Michael Waltke, 45, and Julia Brunsdon, 23.

Mr Vanderbyl said the early indications are that they died some time overnight.

“It was some hours after police had first attended, but we simply don’t know and it’s just way too early for us to speculate,” he said.

“Where there is potential for people to have passed away whilst police are in attendance, the Ethical Standards Command rightly gets involved.

“We term it a death in a police operation until anything points to the contrary.”

Flowers at the scene. Picture Zachary Probert

Ms Purvis’ mother Tonya described the incident as “scary”.

“When I got to bed, I only had a few hours of sleep,” she said.

“It triggered a lot of emotions for me … so I had a bit of a cry, a bit of a meltdown.”

Another neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said she heard a child screaming while on a phone call with a friend at her backyard.

“I briefly stopped to listen to, [and] think ‘why is this kid screaming’, but they weren’t actually screaming ‘help’, so I didn’t think any more of it and went back to the phone call,” she said.

“By the time we left here at 5.30pm, the screaming had stopped, and when I came back, the cops had shut down the road, and we weren’t allowed back.

“The realisation sort of hit me. The person was screaming and that she actually needed help, so that was a bit of a shock.”

It’s understood investigators have not found any domestic violence history with the pair.

But Mr Vanderbyl declined to comment on the nature of the relationship between the pair, or whether the incident would be treated as a murder-suicide.

“It is too early to speculate if it’s domestic violence related.”

“We are still to fully establish the circumstances of who the deceased persons were and their role in the community, but Charleville is a small, close-knit community, and I joined with the mayor of the Murweh Shire Council this morning in saying that these types of events rock any community badly.

“It will be something which will have a tragic impact on the wider community of Charleville and not the least of the friends and relatives of the deceased, with whom our thoughts must remain today as well.”

Police at the scene on Thursday. Picture: Zachary Probert

So far this year seven women have been killed in domestic violence settings.

It also comes after Queensland police data shows the number of people murdered in domestic violence situations in the state increased from 21 in 2023-24 to 25 in 2024-25.

Last month Toowoomba woman Jana Armstrong was killed and her partner was charged with her murder. The matter is still before the courts.

Multiple streets in Charleville were put in lockdown for almost seven hours overnight. Picture: 4RRFM 105.7 Charleville

Murweh Shire Mayor Shaun “Zoro” Radnedge described the incident as a tragedy.

“This is a heartbreaking day for our community of Charleville,” Mr Radnedge said.

“My thoughts, and the thoughts of our councillors and staff, are with the families, friends and everyone affected by the deaths of a man and woman at a Charleville residence overnight.

“This tragedy will be felt deeply across our small community. I know many people will be struggling to come to terms with what has happened.

“I also want to mention our gratitude to our local and supporting police officers and emergency response agencies – for their commitment to the safety of our community.”

Murweh Mayor Shaun Radnedge said it was a tragic incident. Picture: Nigel Hallett

Long-time King Street resident Veronica Hickson said she was shocked to hear what happened.

“It is a little bit frightening, when it happened nearly across the road from where you’re living,” she said.

“They were a very quiet couple, you’d see them working in their yard.”

Police at the scene in Charleville overnight.

The Queensland Police Union said it was providing support and assistance to the officers in Charleville following the incident.

“No police were injured and operational details will be released by the QPS however incidents like this can have a lasting impact on those who attend them,” a union spokesman said.