Man charged with alleged murder of woman, two children in Sydney home

A man has been charged with the alleged murders of a woman and two children in Campbelltown. Photo / Thomas Lisson, NewsWire

A man has been charged with the alleged murders of a woman and two children in Sydney’s southwest, in what police have described as a “particularly violent crime scene”.

Emergency services were called to the Campbelltown home about 7.50pm on Monday (local time) after receiving an emergency call from the property.

Police found the bodies of a 46-year-old woman and two young boys, aged 4 and 12, inside the house.

A 47-year-old man was arrested at the scene.

A neighbour, who declined to give her name, came to lay fresh-cut roses near the home and say a prayer for the alleged victims.

She told media the incident was “too close to home” as she wiped away tears.

“This is just terrible,” she said. “I’m feeling for these children.

“Their friends, they’ve got to come to school to find out that their little mate’s not going to come to school today.”

The 47-year-old man was taken to a police station, where he was charged with three counts of murder.

He was refused bail and is due to face court.

Detectives at the scene in the Sydney suburb of Cambelltown. Photo / Thomas Lisson, NewsWire

Acting Superintendent Michael Moroney said the house was “described as a very traumatic scene, a very horrific scene”.

Moroney did not confirm a cause of death of the three people.

He said they were found in separate areas of the house, in what he described as a “particularly violent crime scene”.

“I can’t give you specific information regards to how they passed – what I can tell you is all three persons sustained significant injuries and it was a particularly violent crime scene,” he said.

Moroney said a “number of items” were seized from the scene, but did not specify what they were.

He said the items “would be of interest in regards to the injuries sustained to those people”.

Moroney said the man was not known to police.

“We’re not aware of any interactions with this male before and certainly not aware of any domestic-related incidents previously reported to police,” he said.

“But I can reassure the public that domestic violence is the number one priority for NSW Police and we will continue to prioritise DV [domestic violence] offenders.”

Police said the man was not known to police. Photo / Thomas Lisson, NewsWire

Residents in the street said they were horrified by the incident.

“Well, growing up in Campbelltown, you don’t expect stuff like that to happen,” one local said.

“So hearing, especially that it’s kids, it’s really shocking.

“And it’s a real eye-opener that things can [happen] close to home.”

The otherwise-quiet suburban street was subsequently cordoned off as forensic detectives continued combing the scene.

According to new data revealed this week, NSW Police respond to a domestic violence incident every three minutes, making up about 60% of all police call-outs.

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