Post by Niemmy on Jun 17, 2008 23:23:26 GMT -5
I never thought this could happen in Australia,This truly sad stuff!
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Twins' gran says siblings doing it tough
The grandmother of twins found dead in a Brisbane house says their siblings are doing it tough.
The twins' elder sister, 11, and three elder brothers, aged three, four and five, are now in the care of their grandmother.
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The grandmother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Seven Network the children were healthy, but too young to understand what had happened to their brother and sister and why their parents were in jail.
"They are very traumatised," the grandmother said.
She said her main aim now was to let the children know they were wanted and to keep them together as a family.
Meanwhile, Acting Queensland Premier Paul Lucas has said neighbours who know children are being neglected or abused should report them immediately to authorities.
"I think it's important whilst we all have an obligation that if we know something, then we say something," Mr Lucas said.
The suggestion was not about victimising or "pointing the finger" at people, he added.
Neighbours had noticed the twins' older siblings were often seen in the street and not in school, but that was not a cause for official complaint, he said.
On Tuesday, Queensland's Child Safety Department said the twins were not known to them.
Police found their decomposing bodies on Monday night in the cot they shared in a rented house in Sunnybank Hills.
A spokesman for the Child Safety Department said the family had been reported to the department before the twins were born but no evidence requiring action had been found.
"Where there is no evidence for the department to take action, it has no legal basis to intervene with a family and it would be totally inappropriate for the department to attempt to do so," the spokesman said.
On Tuesday, the twins' 30-year-old mother and 28-year-old father appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, charged with failing to provide the necessities of life.
The pair were remanded in custody until Thursday pending the results of a post-mortem examination of the twins' bodies.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Tina Green told the court once the examination was completed it was "most likely" the charges would be upgraded to manslaughter or murder.
The court was told the children had been dead for more than a week when they were found in the front bedroom of the house by the woman's 11-year-old child.
The court was told the child discovered the bodies because of the smell.
It's alleged the mother had known about their deaths but had not reported them.
She told police she had been suffering from a cold and rarely fed or changed the twins, it is alleged.
The court heard the children weighed the same as newborns and appeared to be suffering from malnutrition.
One weighed 3.6kg and the other 4kg, and the mother allegedly told police: "I don't think I fed them enough."
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Twins' gran says siblings doing it tough
The grandmother of twins found dead in a Brisbane house says their siblings are doing it tough.
The twins' elder sister, 11, and three elder brothers, aged three, four and five, are now in the care of their grandmother.
ADVERTISEMENT
The grandmother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the Seven Network the children were healthy, but too young to understand what had happened to their brother and sister and why their parents were in jail.
"They are very traumatised," the grandmother said.
She said her main aim now was to let the children know they were wanted and to keep them together as a family.
Meanwhile, Acting Queensland Premier Paul Lucas has said neighbours who know children are being neglected or abused should report them immediately to authorities.
"I think it's important whilst we all have an obligation that if we know something, then we say something," Mr Lucas said.
The suggestion was not about victimising or "pointing the finger" at people, he added.
Neighbours had noticed the twins' older siblings were often seen in the street and not in school, but that was not a cause for official complaint, he said.
On Tuesday, Queensland's Child Safety Department said the twins were not known to them.
Police found their decomposing bodies on Monday night in the cot they shared in a rented house in Sunnybank Hills.
A spokesman for the Child Safety Department said the family had been reported to the department before the twins were born but no evidence requiring action had been found.
"Where there is no evidence for the department to take action, it has no legal basis to intervene with a family and it would be totally inappropriate for the department to attempt to do so," the spokesman said.
On Tuesday, the twins' 30-year-old mother and 28-year-old father appeared in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, charged with failing to provide the necessities of life.
The pair were remanded in custody until Thursday pending the results of a post-mortem examination of the twins' bodies.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Tina Green told the court once the examination was completed it was "most likely" the charges would be upgraded to manslaughter or murder.
The court was told the children had been dead for more than a week when they were found in the front bedroom of the house by the woman's 11-year-old child.
The court was told the child discovered the bodies because of the smell.
It's alleged the mother had known about their deaths but had not reported them.
She told police she had been suffering from a cold and rarely fed or changed the twins, it is alleged.
The court heard the children weighed the same as newborns and appeared to be suffering from malnutrition.
One weighed 3.6kg and the other 4kg, and the mother allegedly told police: "I don't think I fed them enough."