‘She needed help’: Family says Perth baby’s death was preventable

The loved ones of a seven-month-old baby allegedly murdered by his mother say more could have been done to help the family.

Relatives of a baby who died after allegedly being stabbed to death by his mother say more could have been done to help the family.

Jacinta Beth Sells, 31, is charged with murdering her seven-month-old son early on Monday morning in what police allege is a domestic violence homicide.

Paramedics were unable to save the infant, who was allegedly found with stab wounds.

Police confirmed other family members were present at the time, including a 13-year-old girl who called the police.

Jacinta Sells’ family said she was never given the support she deserved. Picture: 9News

A spokeswoman for Ms Sells’ family told The West that Ms Sells had been regularly visited by the Department of Communities, including just a few days before the alleged murder.

“We met with the Department of Communities yesterday and we told them we were disappointed that they failed,” the family spokeswoman said.

“We affirmed our disappointment in the prior management and support. They visited her on the Thursday or Friday. We asked for the case notes from the visit, and they couldn’t produce any.

“She (Jacinta) was doing the best she could in circumstances that most people couldn’t imagine – she needed help and was never given the support that she deserved.”

The spokeswoman said Ms Sells had recently been struggling with parenting difficulties.

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the family was ‘deeply affected’ by the baby’s death. Picture: 9News

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said the family had been “deeply affected” by the baby’s death.

“This is a trauma that no one will ever recover from, the family are deeply affected,” he said.

“There would be very few cases where you would have a crime scene of such a horrific nature for our officers and for first responders involved.”

WA Premier Roger Cook described the incident as “incredibly sad and horrible stuff”.

“Our hearts go out to everyone involved in that,” he said.

Ms Sells has been remanded in custody and is due to return to court in August.

Originally published as ‘She needed help’: Family says Perth baby’s death was preventable