NSW Police examine mother’s mouth, fingernails after four-year-old boy’s death

Warning: graphic content

Police forensic experts will take samples from a mother’s fingernails and mouth for evidence of cannibalism after she allegedly claimed to have consumed part of her son, who was found dead in their home on the NSW Central Coast.

A 32-year-old woman arrived at Wyong Police Station of her own accord on Saturday afternoon, leading officers to quickly form grave concerns about the safety of a child.

The woman allegedly told police she had eaten part of her son.

Police conducted a welfare check at a unit on Byron Street in Wyong. They found the body of her son with significant arm injuries.

Police were granted approval to carry out a forensic procedure on the woman over the weekend that will allow them to carry out a buccal swab, a sample of her blood, nail clippings and matter under her fingernails and “to examine the internal mouth contents and forensic material of the suspect”.

Unusually, the order notes it was not to obtain the woman’s DNA, which is the ordinary purpose of such forensic procedures.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation say it’s suspected that the mother had a combination of mental health and drug addiction problems.

This masthead is prohibited from identifying the boy or the mother under laws protecting the identities of child victims of crime.

“I’m prepared to say publicly, at the moment, it was an extremely confronting scene,” Superintendent Chad Gillies of Tuggerah Lakes police said at a press conference on Sunday morning.

Police sources not authorised to speak publicly on Sunday said that officers were investigating whether cannibalism was involved in the preschooler’s death.

Police are investigating whether the boy had been dead since Wednesday before the alarm was raised, Nine News reported.

The coroner will conduct an autopsy in coming days to determine the cause of death.

The woman, who was previously known to police, was arrested at the police station and charged on Sunday morning with murder (domestic violence).

Neighbours who didn’t want to be named told reporters on Sunday that they had never seen anything untoward between the mother and son.

“[The boy] was all happy; seen him walking the dog and walking up and down the street. He was very energetic,” said a man who had previously done work on the woman’s car.

“[The boy] goes, ‘Oh you’re working on mum’s car, has she broken it again?’ He was happy. We couldn’t see any signs of anything,” the man said.

The duo had moved into the rental earlier this year, a neighbour said, allegedly following domestic violence between the woman and an ex-partner.

When a number of police arrived at the complex on Saturday afternoon, “We had a fair idea it was something to do with [the woman] because they went straight into her house, but no idea it would have anything to do with her child,” the man said.

Neighbours are in shock, he said.

“We’re all up in arms. What happened?”

Police have established a crime scene, and Tuggerah Lakes detectives are investigating the incident alongside the homicide squad.

“It’s a shocking situation,” said another neighbour, who did not want to be named.

On Sunday afternoon, the presence of two young constables from Wyong Station and police tape surrounding the home were the only signs that something was badly wrong on the quiet street of timber and brick homes set back on wide lawns.

“We heard the sirens in the evening. We didn’t realise it was our neighbour, or that anyone could be capable of something so brutal,” another Byron Street resident said.

Investigators have seized the woman’s vehicle for forensic analysis and removed a number of items from the crime scene for analysis.

“Whenever a child is a victim of violent crime, and whenever a child is murdered, it strikes at the core of community,” Gillies said.

“That’s why it’s absolutely important to work through this methodically. We try to understand what’s happened, why it’s happened, and 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.”

The woman faced the bail division court on Sunday, where she did not apply for bail, and it was formally refused. She will next face court in September.

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