Accused Ballarat stabber Cheryl Lucas portrayed online as adoring mum
A Victorian woman accused of the stabbing her partner to death at their home in Ballarat was portrayed online as an adoring and playful mother.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Victorian woman accused of the stabbing murder of her partner is portrayed online as an adoring and playful mother.
Cheryl Lucas, 38, allegedly killed her partner, Heath Speedie, 47, at their home in the Ballarat suburb of Mount Helen on Saturday morning.
Wearing a pink shirt, Ms Lucas remained silent as she sat in dock of the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday flanked by two custody officers.
The court heard it was a “family violence” homicide, with several family members seated in the court for the brief hearing.
No further details of the alleged murder or motive were aired in court.
Ms Lucas’ lawyer Erin Churchill asked that her client be seen for mental health concerns once transferred to maximum-security women’s prison, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre.
It’s the woman’s first time in custody.
Homicide squad detectives charged Ms Lucas with murder after the discovery of Mr Speedie’s lifeless body outside a home on Park Lane about 8am on Saturday.
It’s understood she phoned police after the fatal attack and a knife was seized from the property as evidence.
Ms Lucas’ social media account depicts a loving, playful mother to a young son, whom is featured in photos playing with toy trucks and Lego.
“He melts my heart. So much love for my (son),” Ms Lucas wrote in 2020 when her son was a baby.
It’s understood a young child was present in the home at the time of the stabbing.
Ms Lucas and Mr Speedie knew each other for well over a decade.
One image published in 2012 depicts the pair in a field, with Mr Speedie’s arm slung around the shoulder of a young boy.
In 2013, Mr Heath organised a children’s charity event with Portland Kyokushin Karate Dojo.
He vowed to complete a 250 board break to raise funds for Cops N Kids Camp, a four-day retreat for children fighting cancer.
Neighbours said the couple who lived at the Mount Helen home largely kept to themselves.
“There’s not a lot of interaction but they seemed OK, nothing out of the ordinary I wouldn’t think,” neighbour Doug Mills said.
Ms Lucas made no application for bail and will reappear in court on April 15.
Police taser knife-wielding man in dramatic arrest in Coolaroo
Footage shows the moment a knife-wielding man is brought down in a car park in Melbourne’s north as officers used tasers while one bystander tried to stop the offender with a shopping trolley.
Baby killer cleared to work with children
A Victorian woman who killed her eight-week-old daughter was granted a Working with Children Check through a loophole that has angered child safety advocates and victim families.