Davidson deaths: Brother of Columbian-born Maria Lutz demands ’Why did no one help my sister?’
THE brother of Davidson mother Maria Lutz, who was gassed to death alongside her two autistic children and husband last week, is in Sydney demanding to know why authorities ignored her pleas for help.
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THE brother of Maria Lutz, who was gassed to death alongside her two autistic children and husband last week, is in Sydney demanding to know why authorities ignored her pleas for help.
Juan Lutz Pena, a doctor from Colombia, is “deeply upset” his sister was “severely depressed” and so desperate for help she would ring the Department of Family and Community Services “nine times a day”.
The bodies of Maria Lutz, her children Elisa, 11, and Martin, 10, and her husband Fernando Manrique were found at their Davidson home by police last Monday morning. Police believe Manrique killed his entire family via an elaborate web of pipes that fed carbon monoxide into the house.
Mr Lutz Pena and his parents Alicia and Ernesto flew in from Bogota over the weekend and were scheduled to meet with police yesterday for the grim task of identifying the bodies.
A church service is expected to be held early next week at Holy Name Parish in Wahroonga. A funeral will take place at a later date though it is not yet known if this will take place in Australia or Colombia.
“Juan is deeply upset by the death of his sister and wants to know why the relationship between Family and Community Services broke down,” a source close to the family said.
“He was very close to Maria and, as a father himself, adored Elisa and Martin. He longed for them all to come back to Colombia to be close to family.”
The Daily Telegraph revealed on Saturday that the 43-year-old mother of two was receiving less than five hours of government help each week for her non-verbal autistic children, who were also deaf.
According to a family friend she was a “broken woman” and “severely depressed” in the months leading to her death.
It is understood her marriage to childhood sweetheart Manrique had broken down, with the pair barely speaking for years.
While he dealt with his two autistic children by throwing himself into his work as executive director of technology and business outsourcing company Drake Business Logistics, Maria longed to return to Bogota so she could get help from her family.
The pair had discussed separating in the weeks ahead of the tragedy.
“Maria was so anxious and depressed that if (the Department of Family and Community Services) called to change an appointment or cancel (then) it threw her,” a family friend said.
“She would ring them sometimes nine times a day to confirm they had cancelled or changed things — or to ask for extra help.
“She felt completely alone and was a broken woman and depressed.”
The source said Maria was “definitely struggling with mental health”.
“The marriage had collapsed in the last years and the two of them were not speaking,” the source said.
Police are now preparing a report for the coroner after Ms Lutz’s body was found in one room with her daughter, while her son was found alone in another room. Manrique’s body was also found on its own.
One police officer involved in the case said: “Men cannot always be the knight in shining armour who saves the family. In cases of family murders it is often the men who cracks but it has yet to be revealed what happened in this case.”
A FACS spokesman said the “tragic event” was “subject to a police investigation” adding, “it would be inappropriate” to comment further.
* Lifeline Australia — 13 11 14 or www.lifeline.org.au
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