–With AAP.
1. “Horrific and significant attack.” A 25-year-old woman has been charged with her mother’s murder in Sydney’s west.
A woman has told a court she couldn’t move her fingers, or wash the blood off properly, after she allegedly decapitated her mother with several knives in their western Sydney home.
Jessica Camilleri on Sunday faced Parramatta Bail Court charged with murder after she allegedly attacked her mother, Rita, in their St Clair home the previous night.
The 25-year-old did not apply for bail, with her lawyer telling the court she had significant health issues.
Magistrate Michael Price made an order for her to be assessed in hospital before her next court appearance.
Camilleri, who appeared via video link, said she couldn’t move her fingers properly after “the incident” and hadn’t been able to wash herself properly in the shower to get all the blood off.
She told the magistrate she had a number of conditions including border autism, bipolar disorder and anxiety.
Detective Superintendent Brett McFadden previously alleged the mother and daughter had been arguing before it turned violent with neighbours raising the alarm.
AAP understands the mother was decapitated but police won’t confirm these reports.
A neighbour was startled to discover police putting a tarpaulin over evidence on his front yard, he told the Daily Mail.
Det Supt McFadden said a number of knives were used in the “horrific” attack on the 57-year-old.
“This is up there with one of the most significant, most horrific scenes police have had to face,” Det Supt McFadden told reporters on Sunday.
“There is no stepping away from the fact that this was horrific and a significant attack, and the injuries that the victim suffered were extensive.”
A four-year-old boy who was in the house was treated at Westmead Children’s Hospital for a minor head injury. He is not Camilleri’s son.
“He is being cared for by his family and getting medical support during the course of the day. The family is distraught as to what has taken place,” Det Supt McFadden said.
Police say they were aware of the family, but what unfolded on Saturday night was “not foreseeable”.
“It is a very difficult, challenging, confronting investigation,” he said.
Strike Force Comeroy has been set up to investigate the incident.
2. A man is dead and his daughter in hospital after a domestic incident in Sydney.
A man is dead and a teenage girl has been taken to hospital with stab wounds after a domestic incident in Sydney.
Police say they were called to a home on Nicholson Street, Chatswood, at about 9.55am on Sunday where the 14-year-old wounded girl was being helped by a member of the public.
She was taken to Sydney Children’s Hospital, reportedly with wounds to her neck, where she remains in a stable condition.
A witness named Melanie told 9News about the incident: “This girl came running out who had been cut in her sleep by her father,” they said. “He started strangling her and she was screaming ‘help me, help me, he’s trying to kill me’.”
Minutes later, emergency services were called to a shopping centre in Sydney’s lower north shore where the 52-year-old man, believed to be the girl’s father, was found severely injured after a fall from an upper level floor. Police say he died at the scene.
Officers have been told there was an altercation between the girl and the man inside a Chatswood home, with the man running from the scene after the girl was assaulted and stabbed.
Anyone needing support is urged to contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
3. We’re getting another Thor movie. And Natalie Portman will be starring in it.
Oscar winner Natalie Portman will play a female god of thunder in the fourth film from the Chris Hemsworth series, titled Thor: Love and Thunder.
Portman hit the stage at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday to great fanfare, standing beside returning New Zealand director Taika Waititi and co-stars Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, where she was handed a Hasbro version the hero’s famous hammer.
“I’ve always had hammer envy,” Portman admitted.
Portman appeared in the first two Thor movies in 2011 and 2013 as Jane Foster, but was absent for the most recent installment, Thor: Ragnarok.
The development shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise for those who read the comic books. Foster’s introduced to the series as an astrophysicist who becomes the object of Thor’s affections, but in a 2014 comic-book storyline, she’s deemed worthy to wield Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, and adopts the title of Thor, the Goddess of Thunder.
In addition to revealing Portman’s return, the Thor crew also announced a release date for the forthcoming movie: November 5, 2021.
4. Iran warns of escalating tension with the UK.
Iran’s envoy to Britain has urged the UK to contain “domestic political forces” which he says want to escalate tension between the two countries amid the capture of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf by Iran.
“UK government should contain those domestic political forces who want to escalate existing tension between Iran and the UK well beyond the issue of ships.
“This is quite dangerous and unwise at a sensitive time in the region,” Hamid Baeidinejad tweeted.
“Iran however is firm and ready for different scenarios.”
5. An elderly Queensland woman has died and her 83-year-old husband is in custody.
An 82-year-old woman has died and her 83-year-old husband is in police custody after an incident at Logan, south of Brisbane, police say.
Police were called to a home on Kingston Road just after 1am where the woman was found unresponsive in the bedroom and could not be revived.
Police have arrested a man, who has been taken to the Beenleigh watch house.
He has not been charged.
Top Comments
This horrific murder in Sydney is something that should never have happened. The daughter had repeatedly and loudly asked for help for her diagnosed mental illness. She knew she was out of control and capable of doing something bad. Was she listened to? Absolutely not! Why not? Because mental health facilities and treatment centres are bordering on a joke in this country and elsewhere in the western world.
I wrote elsewhere over the weekend of my experience working at Morisset Psychiatric Hospital during the 70s. It was only an eight week block as part of my training to become a registered nurse. However, because I have to know everything about anything I’m involved in, I soaked up knowledge like a sponge. The section of the hospital that had the most profound effect on me was the section where those with psychiatric illness were housed. There were many patients with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, severe depression etc. The one thing that struck me about these people was that they were bewildered and lost. They loved being in the hospital because it was a place of refuge, an escape from a world they found confusing and frightening. They didn’t have to worry about a thing. They were fed, clothed, took part in hobbies they enjoyed and just slowly recovered. Or not in some cases.
Sure, the doors to these units were kept locked but it never struck me as though anyone was trying to escape. If they felt the need for fresh air, the staff organised a daily walk. As the hospital is in vast grounds on the shores of Lake Macquarie, this was no chore.
And then, shortly after my time at Morisset, the state government decided it would commission a report into the best way to treat mental illness. The Richmond Report found that mentally ill patients would receive better care in the community and it had the added bonus of being cheaper. Allegedly. So, the psychiatric hospitals were scaled back or closed completely and we’re now in the mess this has caused.
My question is: what price the mayhem that’s resulted? Can we put a price on lost lives, damaged lives, crime, drug abuse, suicide? As draconian as it may appear on the surface, I believe it’s time to start again with mental health. Reopen the hospitals or build new ones. The mentally ill know they need protection for themselves and those around them and I believe it’s a small price to pay for the safety and well-being of everyone.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences Joydie45. I know someone who was a Psych Nurse in a High Risk Ward (before it was closed down) and he said more or less the same thing.
I don't possess enough knowledge in the area to say what is right or wrong here, but I do appreciate hearing the views of those at the coal face though.
I’m not sure 8 weeks of work experience 4 decades ago makes you much of an expert on this.
I’m sorry! I wasn’t aware that I was claiming to be an expert. I simply stated the experiences I had and the impressions I gained, making clear that my time was limited and a long time ago. That doesn’t change the overall tone of my post. If you were to come across any psych nurses from those days, they’d absolutely agree with me. Also, my nursing career continued long after this, so this was not the only time I ever dealt with mental illness.
In closing, let me say that it’s a shame you chose to waste your time making a catty (pun intended) comment to me personally, instead of contributing to the discussion. It’s better to keep your mouth closed (or your fingers still) and be thought a fool, than to open it (or move them) and remove all doubt.
I worked in psych as a registered nurse (during the 1970s),although not in NSW, but everything Jodie45 wrote was spot on. Only now, drug addiction has compounded the problem.