An independent review will examine whether the alleged murder of a four-year-old boy at the hands of his mother could have been prevented.
The 32-year-old woman has been charged with murder after the “extremely confronting” discovery of the boy’s body inside a Wyong home, on the New South Wales (NSW) Central Coast, on the afternoon of July 4.
Authorities are set to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death including whether child protection officers were aware of the family, who was involved in the boy’s care and what could have been done to prevent his death.
NSW Families Minister Kate Washington is expected to announce an independent review into the death on the afternoon of July 6.
Welfare concerns were first raised after the woman took herself to the local police station on July 4 and spoke with officers, Superintendent Chad Gillies said.
“Through those conversations, police formed genuine concerns and that’s what triggered our response,” he told reporters on July 5.
“It was an extremely confronting scene.”
The boy had significant arm injuries. Police are yet to confirm his cause of death.
Investigators believe he lived alone at the unit with the woman.
She was known to police and detectives were not looking for anyone else in relation to the boy’s death, Gillies said.
It is also unclear whether the boy had been deceased for several days.
The woman was charged on Sunday with July 5 violence-related murder.
A number of items of property have been seized for forensic testing, including the car that the woman used to drive to the police station.
“Whenever a child is a victim of violent crime and whenever a child is (allegedly) murdered, it strikes at the core of community,” Supt Gillies said.
The woman’s lawyer Neusha Ghahreman did not apply for bail on behalf of her client, who did not appear in court during a brief hearing on July 5.
The case was adjourned until Sept. 1.
