Darwin Have a Whinge: Police shut down Facebook rumours of NT triple homicide

NT Police have put sinister rumours to bed after a Darwin community Facebook page speculated whether a post condemning a woman’s bad parking led to a triple homicide in Darwin.

NT Police have put sinister rumours to bed after a community Facebook page speculated whether a post condemning a woman’s bad parking led to a triple homicide in Darwin.

An anonymous member of the “Darwin – Have a Whinge” group on Saturday claimed a photo of a parked car “with the plates and all” had identified the woman driver.

In the misinformed post, the social media user claimed the photo resulted in a family’s violent death.

“Two innocent toddlers and sick mother passed away after being found by the hands of their sick twisted father,” the anonymous social media user claimed.

“You guys really are so self centred – grow up! Ffs.”

But an NT Police spokeswoman in response to questions from this masthead said cops “have not received a report of an incident that match this description”.

The post attracted the attention of many of the group members.

The Facebook group boasts more than 18,000 members and users frequently publish footage of Territorians’ parking fumbles and near-miss crashes.

The now debunked-rumours caught the attention of many group members, with several even expressing their condolences to the fictional family.

“Prayers for all family, friends, and community forever affected by this horrendous set of circumstances,” one user wrote.

“This is absolutely heartbreaking. All because someone felt the need to post pics (sic) of bad parking,” another said.

“This should be a massive wake up call for everyone that does such.

“There are always consequences to our actions.”

An admin of the group commented on the post to confirm the original photo in question had been deleted and even posted a link to Lifeline for those who felt they needed support.

Digital literacy skills – including the ability to discern whether information read online is reliable or not – are a core component of schools’ curriculums across the nation.

Originally published as Darwin Have a Whinge: Police shut down Facebook rumours of NT triple homicide