Parents of twins found dead could face murder charges

Parents of twins found dead could face murder charges

www.news.com.au

THE parents of 18-month-old twins found dead in their Brisbane home could have their charges upgraded to murder or manslaughter.

The couple are currently charged with two counts each of failing to supply the necessities of life dating back to October 1, The Courier-Mail reports.

They have refused to be psychiatrically assessed over the death of the twins, who lay in their cots for more than a week after they allegedly died of malnutrition.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Tis is incredibly disturbing news.
As a parent it is hard to see how this can happen. One report said the mother told the authorities “I don’t think I fed them enough”. COME ON!!
They had 4 older children already. You would think they knew how to feed a child.
I don’t care what excuses they give, this is unforgivable.

On a personal note, as a parent of multiples plus singletons I know it can be difficult at times but there is simply no reason in the world anybody should need to resort to this considering the amount of support that is available.

www.news.com.au
(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 18/6/2008 by VIKINGANT]

[edit on 18/6/2008 by VIKINGANT]

How horrible would this be for any one let alone an eleven year old. She will be scared for life...

The decomposing and emaciated bodies of the boy and girl were found in their cots by their 11-year-old sister in the family's suburban home in the tropical city of Brisbane. The pair had been dead for up to a week, police said.

The sister who found the two twins after noticing a strong smell coming from their room turned to her mother and said: "I know why you've been crying now"

How could you get past something like this?
I am in so much disbelief that any human can do something like this and to thier own children no less!!!!!

this has rattled our local community here in brisbane, how can people be so morbidly irresponsible, the father claimed he didn't know.

it makes me sad and furious that this could have happened, why didn't the neighbors call family services when the 3 year old turned up on their doorstep naked asking if he could live with them, or when the older children never went to school, instead playing on the road all day, questions have to be asked if we as a society turn a blind eye to obvious neglect like that instead of taking action and doing our duty as human beings and helping others

As a parent, as a former health care worker, as a human, this story kills me inside.



The poor wee things would of suffered terribly before finally death took them... and as for the parents..

WTF are they doing refusing psych exams and saying 'well guess I didn't feed them enough'.... and 'i didn't know..'

They need their other childrens care examined in great detail. This is madness, what the hell has gone wrong with folks ?????

R.I.P kiddies.

reply to post by VIKINGANT


That's disgusting. :shk:
I often wonder how human beings could DO this sort of thing - especially to defenseless babies... Words can't express how horrifying this act is.

That poor 11 year old will probably have psychological problems for the rest of her life. :shk:

And they left them in their cots to rot???

They should be locked up for the rest of their days.

EDIT TO ADD THIS: These people are going to burn in hell.

[edit on 18/6/08 by pretty_vacant]

[edit on 18/6/08 by pretty_vacant]

*shakes_head* I read this in the paper today, its a very heart breaking story..... how on earth could a parent do something like that to their children

Originally posted by VIKINGANT


Tis is incredibly disturbing news.
As a parent it is hard to see how this can happen. One report said the mother told the authorities “I don’t think I fed them enough”. COME ON!!
They had 4 older children already. You would think they knew how to feed a child.
I don’t care what excuses they give, this is unforgivable.

If she had've said "they made me angry so I starved them" there would be malice.. sadly though I suspect she [and the father] just had a few screws loose and shouldn't of had the kids in the first place. Reminds me of a kid just forgetting or being too lazy to feed their pets or something.. such absent mindeness in adults worries me more than angers me. If the parents can't be arsed looking after them they should given them to someone who can. There is a dire need for more community based assistance and better access to parenting education. It's a shame the neighbours didn't involve themselves a little more but I guess they wouldn't have imagined how bad things were..

[edit on 18-6-2008 by riley]

This story make me feel physically sick. I also think it seems incredibly bizarre, the father didn't see the babies for 6 months or notice they had died??? Bit more to this story than meets the eye I think. I will be following this with great interest and great sadness.

So now the 'society is to blame' excuses have started. If these people were struggling all they needed to do ws ask. there are plenty of roups available thee days.

It has even been reported that child services were made aware of these people before the twins were born but could do nothing as they hadn't been born yet?!?!?Whats wrong with a follow up?

Where exactly does the blame lie?

A child protection advocate says incidents like the deaths of 18-month-old twins at Sunnybank Hills in Brisbane's south could be prevented if more support services were available.

[edit on 18/6/2008 by VIKINGANT]

I don't care what excuses these people come up with because none will change what they have done. Not only did they murder their infants, but they have left four other children with emotional scars that will likely never heal.


All I can say is that there is a special level of hell reserved for the likes of these people & I hope they rot there for eternity. (sorry, but the mom in me can't help but hate these people)

Well these parents have finally been charged with Murder and torture of ther babies.

Australian parents charged with murder of twins

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — An Australian couple was charged Thursday with murder and torture in the deaths of their 18-month-old twins, whose decomposing bodies were found by their older sister this week.

The mother, 30, and father, 28, had initially been charged with neglect after the woman told police the twins had starved to death, but the prosecutor upgraded the charges during their court appearance. Because Australian courts don't identify minors, the parents' names were withheld to protect the children's identities.

The murder and torture charges carry potential life sentences.

The remaning children are now being cared for by the Grandparents, but how safe would that be? Any Grandparent would want to see thier grandchildren as often as possible yet they didn't notice these twins deteriorating? Maybe they live away and dont get to see them, I dont know but most people would send happy snaps at least? What kind of family is this?!?!??

reply to post by VIKINGANT



neither set of grandparents have any thing to do with our child - its choice because they were not great parents themselves.

My wifes parents didn't even know we had a kiddie for a couple of months such is the depth of feelings between us.

However... many thanks for the updates and i hope these two scum bags get treated real bad in jail - boiling water and a cup of sugar is the first thing i bhope they are greeted with.

That makes you wonder though. What kind of relationship did the Grandparents have with that family and are they fit to take care of the children? It is possible the parents had no contact with them and wouldn’t allow the Grands to see the kids for whatever reason.

I still cannot comprehend though the statement “I don’t think I fed them enough”. Kids that age would be screaming if they were hungry. Surely the other children would have queried what was going on. At 18 months they would have been on solids so even something a simple as vegemite toast would have given them some basic sustenance.

I saw a pic (artists drawing) of the parents and they seem pretty well fed. If I were in a situation where I had little money, I would make damn sure the kids bellies are full before mine.

I have been trying to work out all possible scenarios as to how this could have happened but can think of nothing even remotely reasonable. It just sickens me to think of a child wasting away screaming from hunger while the rest of the family just went about their business. It is the remaining children that I feel for. Siblings they no longer have and from all reports, never really got to even know.

These people should be given to old fashioned bread and water treatment. Just enough to keep them alive but not enough to satisfy the hunger. And keep it going for years.

The more I hear, the worse it looks for them.

The mother allegedly told police she had noticed the twins were dead on either June 8 or 9, adding that she had been suffering from a cold and rarely fed or changed them. When asked by police how they died, the mother allegedly said: "I don't think I fed them enough." One weighed four kilograms and the other even less.

Having a cold for a couple of days does not account for babies being 5-10kg underweight. It has to have been going on for a lot longer than a few days.

The father told police he did not know they were dead until Monday, although he had walked past their room several times since their death a week earlier, the court heard.

What Father would not see or have anything to do with his children for over a week. If the mother was sick would “dad” not have helped?
Now the attempts for sympathy have started
Dead twins Mum posted online 'cry for help'

"I would like to know how other parents of large families cope from morning to night," she wrote.

"I find that I am drowning since I had the twins. I just can't get everything flowing nicely any more in a routine, it is just do whatever, and at the moment it is killing me."

"I put on 30kgs while pregnant with them and haven't lost a thing since having them. It is all just blah."

"I like things done at certain times, and the house cleaned, but I don't seem to have enough time to anything for myself or have the kids to have their baths or their dinner anymore before 7pm," she wrote.

Sorry to keep harping on this story but as you can probably tell it has really effected me and this is a good way for me to vent. I am looking forward to seeing the parents jailed and to see just how long they last before justice is served not by the courts but from within prison.

Is there family planning help in Brisbane? I mean, here in the US we have a lot of people having kids and neglecting them, and then having more , knowing they cant take care of them. Yet there are condoms and free birth control and, well, not having sex. Yet people make babies they cant or wont take care of, and then these children suffer. They end up dead or permanently damaged, and even if the get taken away from parents the foster care is a nightmare. It is really easy not to get pregnant.

I dont care how many times this woman posted on the internet sight with her pitiful complaints. We all look like crap after we have a baby. I was depressed and had to go to counseling, but I still loved my baby and made sure she was healthy and happy. Believe me- post partum depression is not like major depression. It is a whole other animal and it can be tough, but killing your kids is not the answer. There are millions of moms who go through this and dont kill their children. I am compassionate to a point, but I draw the line here.

If you are feeling blue after having your baby mention to your doc or the pediatrition that you are depressed- they know what to do. My baby's pediatrition noticed I was too thin to keep breastfeeding and probably did more for me than my regular doc. He made me switch to formula and sent me to someone so I oculd get some counseling and some "me" time. They want you to be well to take care of the baby. Any mom going through this stuff should reach out to a friend or call a hotline. Hell, call me!

reply to post by VIKINGANT


You're right- Im an American, but I had my daughter in Germany. I didnt have internet, but I did send my family pics and let them listen to her on the phone. THey didnt get to see her until she was 18 months old, but they knew exactly what she looked like, and she knew them, too. i showed her pics so she would know them at the airport. This has to be a very cold family relationship indeed.