A man has been arrested after his mother was allegedly decapitated at a property in Mole River, in New South Wales, during one of three suspected domestic violence-related incidents in which women died across the state within 12 hours.
Police were called to Ironbark Road, about 40 minutes west of Tenterfield, at approximately 9.35pm on Saturday following reports of a domestic violence incident.
Officers were told a 37-year-old man had entered a property and tried to steal a vehicle before allegedly assaulting the 74-year-old homeowner. He was arrested and taken into custody.
Police then went to a neighbouring property, where they found the body of a 70-year-old woman. The woman was allegedly decapitated and the man arrested is understood to be her son.
A house on the property had also been partly damaged by fire, according to police.
Three women die in suspected domestic violence incidents
The Mole River case emerged alongside two other deaths being investigated as domestic and family violence-related in New South Wales.
At a unit on Chambers Avenue in Bondi, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, police were called shortly after 5pm on Saturday. A woman in her 90s was found with significant injuries and died despite treatment at the scene.
A 47-year-old man known to the woman was arrested at the property and taken to Surry Hills Police Station. He was later charged with murder in a domestic violence-related case, refused bail and was due to appear before Bail Court on Sunday.
In Wagga Wagga, a 23-year-old woman was found with fatal stab wounds inside a home at about 11.45am on Saturday.
Police initially arrested an 18-year-old man at the property for questioning before releasing him without charge. Almost nine hours later, a 31-year-old man was arrested at another home in the regional city and charged with murder.
Investigators said the 23-year-old woman and the 31-year-old man were in a relationship. Detective Inspector Brent Falkiner said an alleged murder weapon had been found and that police were not seeking any other items.
“We believe that everything was located at the scene, inside the home,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said: “Three women have lost their lives in the space of one day.”
“These are shocking crimes and families are today dealing with unimaginable grief. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the women who have died, and the communities affected by these events.”
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane said the deaths were not isolated, citing data that indicated a woman was killed every 11 days by an intimate partner.
“Women of every age, from a 23-year-old to a woman in her 90s, are still not safe in their own homes,” she said.
Ms Sloane said she was “horrified by the alleged stabbing deaths of three women in NSW on Saturday, in Wagga Wagga, Bondi, and Mole River” and said Australia was “failing women”.
Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said the women were owed “more than our sorrow”, adding that governments, community organisations, schools, workplaces and families needed to work together to keep women and children safe.
She said the Australian Government had invested 4.4 billion Australian dollars in support services but acknowledged that “there is more to do”.
