A father who believed his wife had taken their three young children on a picnic was plunged into a nightmare when he received a call at work telling him his five-year-old son was dead and the rest of his family was fighting for life.
asserted
rest → believe → life
Police allege the 42-year-old mother stabbed all three children, aged five and under, on a quiet street in the Blue Mountains on Sunday afternoon before turning the weapon on herself.
asserted
mother → allege → herself
The five-year-old boy died, while his two younger siblings were critically injured.
The children were strapped into their car seats when the alleged attack unfolded in Valley Heights.
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attack → die → Heights
The family was discovered after two cyclists and a passing motorist stopped on Waratah Road and desperately tried to help.
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cyclists → discover → Road
The woman and her two surviving children underwent surgery at Westmead Hospital and The Children's Hospital at Westmead and remained in a critical condition on Monday.
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woman → survive → Monday
Detectives plan to speak with the mother if she recovers from her injuries, with a homicide charge expected to be considered.
asserted
charge → plan → injuries
The children's father rushed to hospital on Sunday to be with his two surviving children after being told of the tragedy.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna described the scene confronting officers as 'barbaric'.
'When you're using knives, or edged weapons ... it's actually quite barbaric,' McKenna said.
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McKenna → rush → knives
'People cut people, it's actually very confronting.
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it → cut → people
'Whenever there are children, it doesn't get worse than that.'
The father is receiving support from Sydney's Kenyan community, while the Kenyan consulate has confirmed it is helping the family.
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it → be → family
Local resident Julie Sukkar initially believed the commotion just metres from her front door was the aftermath of a traffic accident.
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commotion → believe → accident
But when she went outside, she saw a white four-wheel drive parked on a vacant block with its doors open and the three children inside, while their mother lay nearby in the bushes.
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mother → go → bushes
'One of the children, a little girl, a baby, had a beautiful pink and white flower dress on,' Ms Sukkar told Daily Mail Australia.
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Sukkar → have → Australia
'I noticed that as they pulled her out of her car seat.'
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they → notice → seat
'I only thought there were two children at first, but there were three of them in there.
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I → think → them
The woman on the ground was yelling, screaming and thrashing about.
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woman → yell → ground
I'm not sure what she was saying, or if she was trying to say anything.
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she → say → anything
'She was covered in blood and had some really bad injuries.
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She → cover → injuries
'
But amid the frantic activity around the car, it was the children's silence that Ms Sukkar found particularly difficult to witness.
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Sukkar → find → car
They were not screaming or crying.
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They → scream → ?
They were not moving.
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They → move → ?
That was hard to see.
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That → see → ?
The police and the ambulance were here fast, and they did such a good job.'
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they → do → job
Ms Sukkar said police initially handcuffed the mother before later removing the restraints as she was stretchered into an ambulance.
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she → say → ambulance
'They took them off pretty quickly, once they realised she was no danger to anybody,' she said.
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she → take → anybody
Police said the family has no links to the Blue Mountains and were not previously known to officers.
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family → say → officers
Police will allege the wounds sustained by the mother were self-inflicted.
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wounds → allege → mother
Ms Sukkar also praised the quick actions of the three strangers who stopped and raised the alarm, saying their decision to help may have saved the lives of the two surviving children.
uncertain
decision → praise → children
'There were two cyclists and one woman who I think was driving past and stopped,' she said.
'She was very distraught and got in the back to help the baby.
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She → be → baby
'I think those kids probably wouldn't have survived if they hadn't stopped.'
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they → think → ?
Despite witnessing the bloody aftermath and later learning that police suspect the mother was responsible, Ms Sukkar said she could not bring herself to condemn her.
uncertain
she → witness → her
'I felt really sad for her and for the kids as well,' she said.
asserted
she → feel → kids
'To be in that state of mind, I couldn't even imagine it.
'
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I → imagine → it
I have read Facebook posts with people calling her a monster.
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people → read → her
I think people can point the finger a little too early before they know what's happened.
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what → think → finger
'If you haven't been through mental illness, you wouldn't understand it.'
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you → understand → it
The Aporia
