A man charged with three counts of domestic violence-related murder after the bodies of a woman and two children were found inside a Sydney home was the full-time carer of the boys.
The 47-year-old was charged on Tuesday with murdering his wife, 46, and their children – aged 12 and four – who had learning difficulties.
Officers attended the home in Campbelltown, in the city’s south-west, on Monday night “following a call from the home to triple zero” at about 7.50pm, New South Wales police said.
The three bodies were found inside.
Sign up for the Breaking News Australia emailThe man was arrested at the house and taken to Campbelltown police station.
He was charged early on Tuesday morning and did not appear at a subsequent Campbelltown local court hearing.
His lawyer, Jawad Hosain, said his client was not applying for bail. He was yet to enter a plea.
The judge, Don McLennan, formally refused bail and the matter was adjourned until 15 July, when the accused was expected to appear via videolink.
Speaking outside court, Hosain said his client was “pretty distressed at the moment”.
“It’s obviously a tragic set of circumstances for the victims, the community and the family of the victims.”
Act Supt Michael Moroney told reporters on Monday night all four people were known to each other and it was a “particularly violent crime scene”. The victims were found in various areas of the home.
“Other than that, I can’t go into specifics at this time,” he said.
“Police have located a number of items inside the premises which would be of interest in regards to the injuries sustained to those people.”
Moroney said no firearms were found at the house, and the 47-year-old was not previously known to police.
He said the accused had allegedly called triple zero to say “an incident had happened at that location and he was requesting police to that scene”.
Police cordoned off a large section of the quiet suburban street on Tuesday. Flowers had been laid at the perimeter.
Forensics officers could be seen entering and leaving the property while detectives visited neighbours.
Neighbour Edna Hampton said the deaths were “devastating”. “It’s so surreal,” Hampton, who did not know the family, said.
Another neighbour, Vojtek, who did not give his last name, was at home when police arrived on Monday night. “It’s just so sad,” he said, describing the neighbourhood as a mixture of older people and young families.
On Tuesday morning, the premier, Chris Minns, said he was “devastated” by the deaths.
“NSW police and domestic violence prevention centres have been putting [in an] enormous amount of resources and money, and we were starting to see glimmers of progress, but then an event like this happens,” he said.
