UPDATE: Homicide Squad detectives have charged a Mildura man in relation to the death of 11-year-old girl Zoe Buttigieg in Wangaratta on Sunday morning.
The 29-year-old, who had been previously held in a psychiatric ward under police guard, has now been charged with one count each of murder, sexual penetration of a child under 16 and indecent act with a child under 16, according to Victoria Police.
He will face an out of sessions’ remand hearing at Wangaratta this evening and will be remanded in to custody to appear at Wangaratta Magistrates court tomorrow.
Previously we reported:
Further details have emerged about the night that 11-year-old Zoe Buttigieg died in her Wangaratta home.
According to the Daily Mail, Zoe’s mother, Janelle Saunders, who discovered her body in a bedroom of the house early on Sunday morning, had spent “several hours” away from the property as a party raged the night before.
She is currently undergoing psychological counselling and staying at another address.
“We don’t know how she is, we haven’t heard anything since it happened,” a close friend of Ms Saunders told the Daily Mail.
“This is a very tight little street.”
Hundreds gathered at a candlelight vigil to farewell Zoe, releasing balloons at sunset.
Neighbours told the Daily Mail that no one had seen anything suspicious, but that ice was increasingly a problem in the area.
One resident, Heather Mann, said she had often encountered dangerous characters and had recently been threatened with assault.
“It’s required intervention orders,” Ms Mann said.
“Alcohol and ice and the two together are a problem here.”
Homicide detectives have yet to interview the lead suspect in her murder, a 29-year-old Mildura man, who remains under police guard in Kerford psychiatric unit.
Top Comments
Theres nothing to judge
You simply dont leave your child at home alone with guests around! While youre out having fun!
There is alot more to this than what is being told. Why would someone like that be invited to a party at a house where a little girl was sleeping?. Why would they have raging parties when they are meant to be taking care of the wellbeing of a child in the first place?
If 'someone like that' was easily identified, there would not be any child exploitation in the world. This event is horrifying enough without parents turning on each other and judging.
Good parents have fun too - as much as we might like to we can't watch over our chicklets 24 hours per day. Let's just show support for this family who has experienced what must be the most evil thing in the world and send them the love and caring they will need to try and get through the devastating event.
Because that part of Wang is a ghetto full of drug addicts, dickheads and welfare dependant scumbags!
Unfortunately, the wellbeing of a child is fairly low on the list of priorities I can assure you.
A six pack of Woodstock, scoring some ice and a packet of Winnie blues however.....
Are you for real? Yes good parents do have fun but good parents do not have drunken parties & disappear off for hours partying.
Yes we can't protect our children 24/7 but this does not give us a licence to behave irresponsibly. There is a huge difference between leaving them at home to go to the shops to do a bit of shopping as opposed to leaving them on their own in the midst of a drunken party to go out & party for several hours.
People are saying we shouldn't judge this woman because she lost a child & she made a mistake. Yes I do feel for this woman for losing a child but this wasn't a mistake on her part - it was a massive failure in her part in her duty of care to her daughter. I do not condone or justify the actions of the monster who committed a heinous crime against a child & this is unacceptable regardless of the circumstances but this is a tragedy that could have been prevented. Yes sometimes horrible tragedies are unavoidable but there are some that can be stopped.
This wasn't a case of a child being abducted off a street or someone climbing through a bedroom window. This was a child left on her own at a drunken party & a piece of crap decided to take advantage of the situation & a little girl paid the price with her life. Young Zoe was failed on so many levels - by the mother who put partying above the wellbeing of her own child & by the monster who did the most unthinkable thing to a child.
To Zoe - rest in peace little angel 😥