Port Hedland mother charged with murder of three children who were found dead after fire
By Grace Burmas and Cameron Carr
The mother of the three children who were found dead after a house fire in Port Hedland in WA's Pilbara region has been charged with murder.
Key points:
- The woman is due in court accused of murder and criminal damage by fire
- She was taken into custody and flown to Perth after the children's deaths
- The children's family said last week their deaths were a "shattering loss"
Homicide detectives have charged the 36-year-old woman with the murder of her 10-year-old daughter, seven-year-old son and five-month-old son.
She is due to appear in Perth Magistrates Court today on three counts of murder and one count of criminal damage by fire.
The woman was taken into custody shortly after firefighters found the bodies of the three children last Tuesday afternoon, when the house fire had been brought under control.
She was later flown to Perth for further medical treatment.
A community in mourning
The family of the woman and children was seen grieving near the home comforting each other on Thursday afternoon while authorities moved the children's bodies from the site.
In a statement, the family asked the public and local community to respect the investigatory process, something police said would take time.
"Our family is going through a very traumatic grief process," they said in a statement released by police on Friday.
"We request that people do not speculate and make comments on the events surrounding the passing of our beautiful children.
"We ask that people respect our cultural protocols and not mention our children's names, or share their images without our permission.
"We are quietly paying tribute to our three little angels, and just supporting each other at this time."
Family 'flooded with attention'
The Department of Communities said last week that the family at the centre of the incident was well-known in the area.
"They're going through the most difficult time that you could imagine. They're grieving for the loss of these babies," the department's acting regional executive director Sally Kirk said.
"They've been flooded with attention … they've asked everyone if they could please give them space to grieve, to be private, to go through this."
The WA Country Health Service has encouraged people in the community to prioritise their mental health in the wake of the tragic incident.
"Now more than ever, it's important that we continue to be there for one another," regional manager Roger Golling said.