Young mum died in street trying to flee killer who stabbed her, set house on fire

A mother of four was just days from her 32nd birthday when she was murdered by her partner, who also died after setting their house on fire.

A mum-of-four who was just days away from her 32nd birthday has been remembered as someone who enriched the lives of those around her, after she was murdered by her partner north of Brisbane.

Siva Auvae tragically died on Saturday night after her long-term partner repeatedly stabbed her at their home in Kallangur, before setting their house on fire about 7pm.

The scene of the house fire Sunday morning. Picture: Mikaela Mulveney/The Courier-Mail

Her killer, 32, died in hospital Sunday morning after succumbing to critical injuries suffered in the house fire.

The Maori woman, who only recently moved to Queensland from Sydney, has been described as a loving and protective mother with a “flawless nature”.

Her family have launched a GiveALittle fundraiser campaign to return her body to New Zealand and get her four children home.

“Her whanau here in New Zealand are doing everything they can to find out more details surrounding her death and the events leading up,” her family said.

“There are going to be a lot of costs associated with bringing her back to New Zealand as well as sorting out arrangements for her four beautiful children. Any assistance is very much appreciated at this time.”

Siva Auvae died from stab wounds after fleeing a property in Kallangur.

Ms Auvae was killed just 16 days before Christmas, which would have also been her 32nd birthday.

She has four children, with her youngest not even one year old.

Her family has shared tributes to Ms Auvae on social media, saying they would miss her dearly.

“You enriched all our lives with just your existence & I’ll never forget your beautiful qualities & nature,” one cousin said.

“The love, care and protection you poured into your babies, we see cousin.

“I’ll look for you in the next life, my stunning cousin.”

Detective Inspector David Harbison from Moreton Police held a press conference on Sunday where he said police were continuing to investigate a domestic violence related homicide.

“At this stage it appears the [31-year-old] victim suffered a number of stab wounds,” he said.

Detective Harbison said police were alerted to a nearby house fire roughly 100 metres away from where the female was located.

The 32-year-old male who police believe was the perpetrator in this incident was found an hour later on Butterfly Court with serious burn injuries.

“It was a very dynamic, evolving incident when police, paramedics and fire officers arrived.”

Detective Harbison said the 32-year-old male had succumbed to his injuries and died on Sunday morning at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital.

“Forensic police with the assistance of our investigators continue to scour through the fire scene…and police are piecing together the movements of the deceased persons,” he said.

“It is known that the deceased persons were in a long-term domestic relationship and had recently moved to Kallangur from New South Wales.”

A woman has died after being found with critical injuries at Kallangur, north of Brisbane, on Saturday night. Picture: Rose Innes

Detective Harbison said they were working with New South Wales police, but it was too early to make comment in regards to the history of domestic violence.

“I can state there are no current domestic violence orders in New South Wales or Queensland,” he said.

Detective Harbison also said Queensland Police received no calls for service to the address prior to the fire.

Initial investigations have pointed to the female victim being injured on Brimstone Court and not at the residence.

Investigations have also suggested the male perpetrator lit the fire deliberately and was lit after the female victim was injured.

“It’s too early to tell, but a timeline of events indicates the fire was lit after,” Detective Harbison said on Monday.

Investigations also revealed the two persons were believed to have only been living at the residence for less than a month.

Detective Harbison confirmed police did not believe there were any other persons unaccounted for or involved in the tragic incident.

Residents along Frances Court and Brimstone Court said they were shocked by the incident.

Kiana Jeffrey, a resident on Brimstone Court, said she was sitting out the back with her family for a barbecue when she saw one of the houses on fire.

“I quickly ran to the top of the driveway and my friend was walking to our house yelling, stop, stop, stop,” she said.

“Then I looked and there was blood everywhere and a lady was face down in the middle of the road,” she said.

Part of the house’s roof collapsed. Picture: Mikaela Mulveney/The Courier-Mail

Ms Jeffrey said when speaking to other residents, they “heard a curdling scream”, before a woman ran approximately 400m from Frances Court to Brimstone Court, and was chased by another male.

She said the woman collapsed from her injuries outside one home, where a man jumped the fence as residents began leaving their homes to help the woman.

“I just remember seeing her blood everywhere, on the driveway there was a big puddle and all the police just came flying,” she said.

Ms Jeffrey said she and her children would usually play out in the street, however were getting ready to go see Christmas lights on Saturday afternoon.

“We thought it was safe, every day we play on the corner until about 6:30pm, but the afternoon we don’t this happens. It’s just crazy,” she said.

She said she couldn’t quite believe what had transpired and she was still in a state of shock.

“After police and the fire brigade came we just went inside. But I can’t un-see that, it’s something I’ll never forget,” she said.

Michael Jones who was at the barbecue at Ms Jeffrey’s house said they were walking out to go see Christmas lights.

“We just got the kids back inside so they couldn’t see.”

On Sunday morning police were still conducting investigations and outside the driveway where the victim died, there were still small splatters of blood.

A resident said he incident t was something she’d never forget, and the injuries the woman suffered were “horrendous”.

Other neighbours, a couple who wished not to be named, said they “never expected anything like this to happen here”.

The man said he had seen the two around a couple of times in the short time they had lived there, however he did not get to introduce himself.

“We saw them mainly from a distance, we didn’t get the chance to properly know them,” he said.

“We hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary, one time my brother in-law said he heard yelling, but I thought it could’ve been kids in the neighbourhood.”

His brother in-law and in-laws were home when the incident occurred, and it was his mother-in-law who saw the perpetrator jump their back fence to get to his property next door.

He added they were quite worried when they noticed the flames and smoke coming from their neighbours home.

“My in-laws ran out of the house but they couldn’t get in to stop it, they were very scared,” he said.

“My wife and I were working so we couldn’t get back in the street, we were standing around the corner for hours.

“My in-laws were in shock…they still are.”

Peter Sellers has been a resident in Brimstone Court for 14 years and said he had never seen crime in the street.

“It’s a quiet street with lots of families,” he said

Mr Sellers said he didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary until the sirens.

“I walked outside and there was a street full of police and fire brigades … and we could see someone getting attended to in the middle of the street,” he said.

Mr Sellers said he didn’t know much about the couple as they had only been there a few weeks.

It was earlier reported fire crews were called to the property which was “fully engulfed in flames”, and the blaze was doused by 8pm after part of the ceiling collapsed.

One nearby resident said the Butterfly Ridge estate had been plunged into lockdown for several hours with PolAir and dog squads searching the area for the man.

“The PolAir was doing laps all night, we couldn’t leave the house too,” they said.

Another neighbour said the whole street was smoked out.

“We were just inside and heard all the sirens,” Amber Joslin said.

The man was found nearby hours later and taken to hospital with critical injuries, believed to be burns, but died on Sunday.

Three crime scenes were set up as police continue to investigate the circumstances around the incident.

In a late night media conference on Saturday, Moreton Police district Detective Inspector David Harbison said it was a confronting scene for police and the public.

“This matter is very much in its infancy. It’s not appropriate to release any further details at this point, the investigation is unfolding as we speak,” he said.

He said there was no danger to the public.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen anything in the area at the time of the incident, or who may have relevant dashcam/CCTV footage to come forward.