Perth murder-suicide: How Coogee car fire adds to a horror list of Australian infanticide tragedies

Publish date: 2024-05-04

Two young children believed to have been killed by their mother in a suspected murder-suicide were budding musicians who enjoyed playing in their garden with their father.   

The bodies of a woman, 40, a girl, 10, and boy, eight, were found inside a burnt out red Honda Jazz in a beachside carpark at Coogee, south Perth, on Monday afternoon, in the latest tragedy to rock the nation.  

The children’s distraught dad, who had left a day earlier to visit family in the US, received the heartbreaking phone call from police on a stopover in Doha and is now on his way back home.  

Police on Tuesday said they were now ‘certainly looking’ at the deaths as a murder-suicide, and while detectives have not completely ruled out other alternatives it was ‘very, very unlikely there is a third party involved’. 

Their deaths are now among a horrendous list of murder-suicides in recent years where young children have been unfathomably killed by a parent. 

The bodies of a mother and her two children were found inside a burnt-out car. Police made the horror discovery after the red hatchback was extinguished

The bodies of a mother and her two children were found inside a burnt-out car. Police made the horror discovery after the red hatchback was extinguished

Perth murder-suicide: How Coogee car fire adds to a horror list of Australian infanticide tragedies 3

Police were called to John Graham Reserve around midday on Monday where the burnt out vehicle was discovered and photographed covered in tarps

Major crime Det-Insp. Quentin Flatman said the husband and wife, who was a nurse at Fiona Stanley Hospital, had a ‘normal, healthy, happy relationship’.

A close family friend, who did not want to be identified, said the father was in shock.

‘They were such loving, kind people. A beautiful family,’ she told The West Australian.

The friend said the children’s father used to teach both kids music, with the son playing drums and the girl violin.  

Neighbours who lived in the same street as the Canning Vale-based family described them as ‘happy’ and ‘normal’.

‘I saw them over the weekend and they seemed happy. The dad would do gardening and the kids would play out the front,’ one woman said.

‘They were a really nice, happy family.

It has been confirmed a boy and girl were found inside the car, along with their mother

It has been confirmed a boy and girl were found inside the car, along with their mother 

Burn marks are seen etched into the bitumen of the car parking bay at the scene of the fatal care fire

Burn marks are seen etched into the bitumen of the car parking bay at the scene of the fatal care fire

‘It’s just so sad and tragic.’

The family, who had lived in Perth for five years, were members of local Tsaraph Tabernacle church, which is reeling in shock over the incident. 

Det-Insp. Flatman said the children’s devastated father was coming home as quick as possible.

‘His reaction was what we would all expect in the circumstances. He is currently on an aircraft coming home so he can look for answers himself,’ he said’

‘If this could get any worse, that poor man will have to be on a plane alone.’

Detectives were seen coming and going from the family’s well-manicured home on Tuesday as they continue to investigate whether the fire was the sole cause of their deaths.

Flowers were laid at the scene of the fatal car fire on Tuesday as mourners visited to pay their respects

Flowers were laid at the scene of the fatal car fire on Tuesday as mourners visited to pay their respects 

Meanwhile, bouquets of flowers have begun to pile at the scorched car park bay at John Graham Reserve where the trio were discovered as mourners visit the site to pay their respects. 

If police suspicions prove true, the tragedy will join a growing list of murder-suicides in recent years where young children have been unfathomably killed by their parents. 

Each year, around five to six children are killed by their parents in Victoria alone, according to a Coroner’s Court of Victoria report released in 2021. 

As the latest incident dredges up the country’s dark history of deadly domestic violence, here, Daily Mail Australia revisits the all-too familiar crimes that shocked the nation. 

January 2022 

The Coogee deaths come just weeks after Perth was rattled by the deaths of Indika Gunathilaka, 40, and his two children –  Lily, four, and Kohan, six, at Huntingdale, in the city’s southeast, on January 28. 

Police were called to a home in Essington Street about 6.35pm after the children failed to show up to a pre-arranged location where their mother had arranged to pick them up. 

Indika Gunathilaka, 40, and his two children - Lily, four, and Kohan, six - who tragically died earlier this year

Indika Gunathilaka, 40, and his two children – Lily, four, and Kohan, six – who tragically died earlier this year 

The children were reportedly found in their beds while the town planner’s body was in the garage, with police ruling the deaths murder-suicide. 

Two days earlier Gunathilaka had shared photos of himself with his kids online and had previously posted about mental health awareness and how ‘suicide is possibly not the solution’.

January 2021

Katie Perinovic, 42, murdered her children Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 one by one before taking her own life inside their Tullamarine home, north west of Melbourne, on January 14, 2021.

Their father Tom Perinovic, 48, had been out buying his family a new television set when the atrocity happened.

He discovered their bodies when he returned home and raised the alarm with authorities. 

Katie Perinovic, 42, pictured with her daughters Claire, 7, and Anna, 5, and son Matthew, 3

Katie Perinovic, 42, pictured with her daughters Claire, 7, and Anna, 5, and son Matthew, 3

Mr Perinovic had reportedly become increasingly concerned about his wife’s mental health in the months before the murders after she was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia the previous November. 

Police believe the mother-of-three was so mentally unwell she could not tell the difference between reality and her paranoid thoughts.  

April 2021 

Henry Shepherdson, 38, jumped 36 metres from the Whispering Wall dam in the Barossa Valley of South Australia with his nine-month-old daughter Kobi strapped to his chest on April 21, 2021. 

Police say witnesses desperately did what they could to stop him, and others performed CPR on little Kobi until emergency services arrived about 4.30pm.

She was declared dead about 15 minutes later, while Shepherdson died on impact.

Kobi Shepherdson (pictured) was murdered by her father in South Australia in April 2021

Kobi Shepherdson (pictured) was murdered by her father in South Australia in April 2021

The father-of-one had a history of domestic violence and was in a custody battle with his estranged partner at the time of his death. 

Hours before the murder-suicide, a South Australian court had banned Shepherdson from going within 200m from his family – although the order did not forbid him from having access to Kobi. 

February 2020

Rowan Charles Baxter, 42, ambushed his estranged wife Hannah Clarke, 30, and their children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, during a school run in Brisbane’s south-east on February 19, 2020.

He doused his family in petrol and set them alight before turning a knife on himself. 

The children died in the car while Hannah, 31, jumped from the driver’s seat screaming ‘he’s poured petrol on me’. She later died in hospital. 

Hannah Clarke and her children Trey, Aaliyah and Laianah was murdered by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter (pictured together)

Hannah Clarke and her children Trey, Aaliyah and Laianah was murdered by her estranged husband Rowan Baxter (pictured together)

Ms Clarke had recently separated from Baxter following an abusive relationship, in which he dictated what she could and couldn’t wear, would go through her phone and limited the time she could spend with friends and family.

The mother of three was posthumously honoured in the Marie Claire Women of the Year List for her incredible bravery and resilience to ensure her story was told to police during the final hours of her life.

Her parents Lloyd and Sue Clarke have since been working to have coercive control by abusive partners criminalised in Queensland in honour of their daughter.

October 2019

Milka Djurasovic, 40, killed her daughters Mia, 10, and six-year-old Tiana, whose bodies were found by their father Nenad at their Madeley home in October 2019.

After killing her daughters, Djurasovic paced around the home before kissing and hugging the girls and placing toys next to their bodies.

Pictured: Tiana and Mia Djurasovic, who were killed by their mother Milka Djurasovic in October 2019

Pictured: Tiana and Mia Djurasovic, who were killed by their mother Milka Djurasovic in October 2019

She then made several attempts to take her own life and recorded a video in which she repeatedly apologised and urged her husband to let her die.

The girls’ father arrived home that afternoon to discover Mia’s body, with Tiana’s body later discovered by paramedics.

Police found Djurasovic a short time later covered in a blanket in sand dunes at a nearby beach, having again attempted to end her life.

During a judge-alone trial in the Supreme Court of

in December last year she was acquitted of their murder due to unsoundness of mind.

Justice Stephen Hall found Djurasovic’s mental illness had been of such intensity it had deprived her of the capacity to know she ought not to commit the crimes.

He ordered that she remain detained until released by order of the state governor.

July 2018 

Jack Edwards, 15, and his sister Jennifer, aged 13, were shot dead on July 5, 2018, after their father John Edwards stalked his daughter on her way home from school.

The 67-year-old killed himself at his rented home near Normanhurst on the night of the murders. Five months later, the mother of the children, Olga, took her own life.

Edwards, who had a history of domestic violence, wrote ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ on a note displayed in his study – just metres from where he killed himself.

Jack (pictured left) and Jennifer's (pictured right) body were found under his bedroom desk with multiple gunshot wounds

Jack (pictured left) and Jennifer’s (pictured right) body were found under his bedroom desk with multiple gunshot wounds

The retired financial planner also left family law documents on the desk.

Documents were also discovered in a green suitcase in the lounge room of the West Pennant Hills home following the murders of Jack and Jennifer.

It was earlier revealed that Edwards sought the assistance of private investigators to stalk Olga and an adult daughter in the years before his crimes shocked the nation.

May 2018 

Peter Miles, 61, shot dead his grandchildren, Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10 and eight-year-old Kayden, their mother Katrina and his wife Cynda, before turning the gun on himself at the family’s farm in Osmington, Western Australia on May 11, 2018.

The murder was the worst mass shooting Australia had seen since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania which led to mass gun reform.

Peter Miles (second from left in suit and blue tie) killed his wife, Cynda, (back right), his daughter Katrina Miles (left in red dress) and her four children aged from eight to 13 (pictured left to right Rylan, Kayden, Taye and Ayre) before shooting himself

Peter Miles (second from left in suit and blue tie) killed his wife, Cynda, (back right), his daughter Katrina Miles (left in red dress) and her four children aged from eight to 13 (pictured left to right Rylan, Kayden, Taye and Ayre) before shooting himself

The children’s father and Katrina’s ex-husband Aaron Cockman, who was locked in a bitter custody dispute with his former partner, believes his ex-father in law had been planning the killings for some time.

It later emerged Mr Miles had called police after killing his family and spoke for two minutes before taking his own life.

For confidential support in Australia, contact Lifeline: 13 11 14, Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636, or Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467

For domestic and family violence or sexual assault counselling call the national 1800 RESPECT hotline 1800 737 732. 

INFANTICIDAL MURDER-SUICIDES THAT ROCKED AUSTRALIA 

March 2022

A mother, 40, and her two children – a girl, 10, and boy, eight – are found dead inside a burnt out car in a suspected murder-suicide in Coogee, south Perth. 

January 2022

Indika Gunathilaka, 40, killed little Lily, four, and her six-year-old brother Kohan before taking his own life at a home in Huntingdale, in Perth’s south-east

January 2021

Katie Perinovic, 42, murdered her children Claire, seven, Anna, five, Matthew, three, then killed herself at their Tullamarine home in Melbourne’s north. 

April 2021 

Henry Shepherdson, 38, jumped from the Whispering Well dam in the Barossa Valley of South Australia with his nine-month-old daughter Kobi strapped to his chest

February 2020

Rowan Charles Baxter, 42, killed his estranged wife Hannah Clarke, 30, and children Aaliyah, six, Laianah, four, and Trey, three, in Brisbane’s south-east, before taking his own life 

October 2019

Milka Djurasovic, 40, killed her daughters Mia, 10, and six-year-old Tiana, whose bodies were found by their father Nenad at their Madeley home in October 2019. 

July 2018 

Jack Edwards, 15, and his sister Jennifer, aged 13, were shot dead on July 5, 2018, after their father John Edwards stalked his daughter on her way home from school. 

May 2018 

Peter Miles, 61, shot dead his grandchildren, Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10 and eight-year-old Kayden, their mother Katrina and his wife Cynda, before turning the gun on himself at the family’s farm in Osmington, Western Australia on May 11, 2018. 

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