The Aporia · Mother accused of driving off boat ramp in failed attempt to murder her three children

Mother accused of driving off boat ramp in failed attempt to murder her three children

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Abbott, L. (2026, September 21). Mother accused of driving off boat ramp in failed attempt to murder her three children. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/mother-accused-of-driving-off-boat-ramp-in-failed-attempt-to-murder-her-three-children-20260921-p60z64.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

A Melbourne mother has pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder her three children in two incidents in March. She is accused of trying to drown her eldest child in the bath before driving all three children off a boat ramp and into water at full speed, allegedly causing them severe distress but no injuries. Police found messages on her phone indicating concerns about postnatal depression and thoughts of adoption, and she faces four charges of attempted murder. Her bail application was opposed by police due to mental health supervision needs while awaiting trial.

Written by AI on 2026-09-21, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A Melbourne mother has been charged with attempting to murder her three children, one of whom is an infant. The incident occurred over two separate alleged attempts: first, while her husband was out running errands on a Sunday, she reportedly tried to drown her eldest child in the bath. When that failed, she allegedly drove the family car to a boat ramp near a creek and attempted to drive into the water with all three children inside. The woman searched online for phrases like "how to kill a child quickly," according to court documents. Police say the alleged attempts took place in March this year. In court on Monday, she pleaded not guilty but asked for a fast-tracked trial due to four charges of attempted murder and her deteriorating mental health. The woman's severe obsessive-compulsive disorder and postnatal depression are believed to have significantly contributed to these events, according to police reports.

Written for “Mother Allegedly Attempts To Murder C…” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 22% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

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Hedges 12 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

22%

5 of 23 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

61/100

The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-21 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5737 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Lachlan Abbott

14 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 I couldn’t commend her more highly.”

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🔮 I couldn’t commend her more highly.

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🔮 “It’s never happened before, we couldn’t sleep the whole night.”

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🔮 Giriwa May was sentenced to four years and 10 months in jail at the County Court on Thursday, with a non-parole period of two years and 10 months.

2026-10-15 · mixed framing · Northland driver bragged about crime after leaving children ‘terrified’

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🔮 The woman also applied for bail, which police opposed as they say her mental health could not be adequately supervised by her parents while she awaits her trial.

2026-09-21 · mixed framing · Mother accused of driving off boat ramp in failed attempt to murder her three children

Also by Lachlan Abbott

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 14 articles by Lachlan Abbott →

Topics

Melbourne Melbourne Magistrates’ Court

Subjects

Melbourne GPE · 1× Melbourne Magistrates’ Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

A summary of allegations aired in court revealed the woman, aged in her 30s, is accused of trying to kill her eldest child in the bath while her husband was out running errands on a Sunday this year.

framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-21

🔮 The woman also applied for bail, which police opposed as they say her mental health could not be adequately supervised by her parents while she awaits her trial.

2026-09-21 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Mother accused of driving off boat ramp in failed attempt to murder her three children · mixed framing

Claims (23 extracted, 5 hedged)

A Melbourne mother has pleaded not guilty to trying to murder her three children – one of them an infant – by driving them off a boat ramp after failing to drown her son in the bath. asserted

one → plead → bath

The woman, who cannot be identified due to a suppression order, had messages about adoption and postnatal depression on her phone when police searched the device, a court has heard. asserted

court → identify → device

She appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday and asked for a fast-tracked trial as she faces four charges of attempted murder over two alleged incidents in March. asserted

she → appear → March

The woman also applied for bail, which police opposed as they say her mental health could not be adequately supervised by her parents while she awaits her trial. uncertain

she → apply → trial

A summary of allegations aired in court revealed the woman, aged in her 30s, is accused of trying to kill her eldest child in the bath while her husband was out running errands on a Sunday this year. asserted

husband → air → Sunday

The court heard that as the boy struggled with his mother, he asked her, “Why are you doing this?” asserted

you → hear → this

Police say the woman didn’t respond and eventually gave up. asserted

woman → say → ?

Police allege that soon after, the woman drove her three children – all aged under 12 – to a boat ramp, locked the car doors and accelerated at “full speed” into the water. asserted

all → allege → water

“As the vehicle was beginning to submerge in the [water], the accused opened her vehicle door, and water began to enter,” a detective senior constable told the court. asserted

constable → begin → court

The woman then told her children to get out before grabbing her daughter and walking her to the front of the car, where the water was neck-deep, the court heard. asserted

court → tell → car

The mother allegedly then climbed onto the girl in a “piggyback”-like manner, causing the child to be “submerged completely”. uncertain

child → climb → manner

The girl was eventually able to stand up before her mother ordered her and her brother back into the car, police allege. asserted

police → stand → car

It is alleged witnesses heard the children screaming, and one witness waded into the water to get two of the children safely to shore. asserted

witness → allege → shore

Police claim the young girl then yelled “the baby!” and a witness asked the accused whether a child was still in the car. uncertain

child → claim → car

The mother allegedly nodded and retrieved the child from the front passenger seat. uncertain

mother → nod → seat

All three children escaped injury. asserted

children → escape → injury

When police arrived, the court heard, the mother was standing at the water’s edge with the infant in her arms. asserted

mother → arrive → arms

When asked how her car ended up in the water, she allegedly said: “It was just an accident. uncertain

It → ask → water

It’s just slippy.” asserted

It → ’ → ?

The accused mother later told investigators she didn’t feel mentally fit to be interviewed. asserted

she → accuse → investigators

Detectives later found internet searches on the woman’s phone about hurting children, the court heard. asserted

court → find → children

Text messages were also found that said: “I want to put the baby for adoption”, and “I know you think I have postnatal depression.” asserted

I → find → depression

The woman’s bail application will continue on Wednesday. asserted

application → continue → Wednesday