Melbourne mum repeatedly begged authorities to remove violent son before he killed her

A Melbourne mother was “at her wits end” after repeatedly pleading with authorities to remove her son, an aggressive 17-year-old with an extensive history of sexual violence. He was bailed days before he strangled her.

The mum had told a friend she was “at her wits end”. Picture: Supplied

A Melbourne mother was violently killed by her teenage son after begging authorities to take him away due to increasing fears for her safety.

The intellectually disabled boy, 17, was suspected by police of raping his mother during the deadly act which he sought to disguise as an accidental bathtub drowning.

He had an extensive history of sexual violence and aggression and in the days before her brutal death, his mother despaired that police had again bailed him after crashing a car three times while illegally driving.

The mother also contacted multiple welfare agencies begging them to take her son due to safety fears for her and her other child but was ignored.

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Three days before her death in 2018, she wrote to a Victorian child care agency asking to relinquish her parental rights, outlining her “desperate concern that he is becoming increasingly violent towards [her]self and his brother and [she was] worried about [their] safety”.

“He has impulse control issues and sexually inappropriate behaviours and these are escalating daily,” she wrote.

An autopsy revealed the mother was killed by neck compression and her naked body was covered in bruises highly suggestive of “defence type injuries”.

Sperm was found on her breast, tested as being 58,000 times more likely to belong to her son than any other person, and bloodstains on her bedsheets and in the bathroom where her body was located.

Her death was probed by State Coroner Judge John Cain, who found she made repeat disclosures of family violence at the hands of her son from May 2016 and that they increased in frequency in the weeks before she was killed.

Despite this, no support services recognised her risk of harm or assisted her with family violence risk assessments, safety planning or referrals, Judge Cain found.

The teen told police his mum died in the bath. Picture: Supplied

In the week leading up to her death, the mother told a health service referred foster carer that her son had “belted her across the face” and threatened to kill her after being released on bail.

The unlicensed teen took out a friend’s car, crashing it into two vehicles and a power pole, before being arrested and bailed by police.

He was already on bail at the time for alleged sexual offending.

The mother told a friend “she was at her wit’s end” and “furious that police did not remand (him), as he was on bail at the time and could have seriously injured or killed himself or someone else,” according to the Coroner’s report.

In addition to physical violence, the foster carer was also aware of the teen’s increasingly sexualised behaviour toward his mother, including watching her in the bathroom.

The boy was also caught masturbating with her clothes and jewellery on her bed.

He told a triple-0 call taker “my mum died in the bath” and under police questioning denied being sexually inappropriate with or killing her.

The teen was charged with rape and murder and later found to be mentally unfit to stand trial.

In 2020, he was found not guilty of rape and murder but guilty of manslaughter and was given a custodial supervision order with a 20-year nominal period.

He is currently housed in a state-run Long-Term Residential Program.

Judge Cain identified a lack of crisis accommodation for young people who use family violence and recommended the Victoria government develop additional longer-term supported accommodation options with attached therapeutic support for adolescent perpetrators.

Originally published as Melbourne mum repeatedly begged authorities to remove violent son before he killed her