Woman dead, three in hospital after violence in Narre Warren South
The woman violently killed in her Narre Warren home has been identified as mother-of-three Channa Tep, who came to Australia seeking a better life.
South East
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A doting mother-of-three who emigrated to Australia seeking a better life was viciously killed in her home by a teenage boy in a frenzied stabbing attack.
Channa Tep, 42, was violently assaulted on Monday afternoon in her Narre Warren South home and tragically died in hospital from her upper body wounds.
The horrific mass stabbing has left Ms Tep’s elderly mother fighting for her life, while her young daughter, aged just three, remains in a serious condition in hospital.
A 15-year-old boy remains under police guard at Dandenong Hospital where he is being treated for injuries sustained in the incident.
He is yet to be questioned by detectives and no charges have been laid but police say they are not looking for anyone else.
Ms Tep, a devoted mother, fled Cambodia for a better life in Melbourne and had lived in her home for about eight years.
A recent separation from her husband had been upsetting for her children.
Speaking to the Herald Sun, relative Ben feared for his 70-year-old grandmother, who he described as a “really nice” person.
“She is always looking after the community,” he said.
“She always looks after me. When I’m hungry, she cooks for me. I’m worried about all my family.”
Floral tributes dotted the driveway of the two-storey house on Tuesday after visibly upset locals returned to the scene to pay their respects.
A long-time neighbour said the family were lovely people.
“We were able to get on very well with them,” the neighbour said.
“We would sometimes have a lot of fruit … and we would often give them apples and peaches and they would give us tomatoes.
“It’s so sad. A lot of people in the street will miss them.”
Neighbour Ash laid a bouquet of yellow flowers at the driveway of the home, describing the scene as “sad”.
“The poor children will grow up without a mum,” he said.
Another woman brought her three young children to lay flowers and leave a teddy bear for the young girl.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the investigation was ongoing.
“It is an absolutely tragic incident out there,” Mr Patton said on 3AW.
“The homicide (squad) are conducting significant inquiries and forensic analysis at the scene.”
Ms Tep’s 70-year-old mother was on Tuesday night in a critical but stable condition at the Alfred hospital.
Visibly upset locals returned to the scene of a fatal alleged stabbing on Tuesday morning to pay their respects.
The attack happened about 1pm at a house in Springvalley Way, Narre Warren South.
Police arrived to find four injured people at the home — a three-year-old girl; a 70-year-old woman; a 15-year-old boy and a 42-year-old woman who was at the time in a critical condition.
The residential street was otherwise quiet, aside from children returning to school.
Witnesses said the middle-aged mother of the family was sitting on the lawn comforting her youngest child in the aftermath.
“She was upset,” neighbour Heather said.
An elderly woman looks after her three grandchildren at the property, sometimes taking them to school.
A tearful relative on Monday told the Herald Sun he feared for his mother, aged in her 70s, who was taken to hospital.
“I’m worried about my mum,” Satraboth Tep said.
“Police are not letting me go into the house. My boy called me to tell me something was wrong.
“He said: ‘Can you come?’ He said, ‘We don’t know what has happened but it is bad’. I’m so worried.”
Another relative named Ben told the Herald Sun he was deeply concerned.
A neighbour, who gave his name as Ash, laid a bouquet of yellow flowers at the driveway of the home on Tuesday morning.
He said the scene was extremely upsetting.
“The young ones, there brains just aren’t fully functioned,” he said.
“It’s sad, it’s just sad. The poor children will grow up without a mum.”
Anne Holden and her family also left a box of flowers and said they wanted to “pass on their well wishes.”
Another neighbour, who didn’t want to reveal his name, said the family were lovely people.
He said he and his wife got to know the middle-aged couple and their three children quite well.
“We were able to get on very well with them,” the neighbour said.
“We would sometimes have a lot of fruit … and we would often give them apples and peaches and they would give us tomatoes.”
The man said his wife was “pretty upset” by the tragedy.
“She got pretty close with them,” he said.
“It’s the sort of thing that takes a while to sink in.”
He said he would often see the two women of the house out walking, and even drove the older lady to hospital for the birth of a relative.
“They were nice people and nice neighbours to have,” he said.
“The kids used to come up here … bring their bikes up and I’d adjust their wheels.
“It’s so sad. A lot of people in the street will miss them.”
— Do you know more? Contact our newsdesk on 9292 1226 or email alanah.frost@news.com.au
