By Perry Duffin
A woman allegedly run down by her husband has been remembered as “the best mum”, who survived losing a child in a tragic accident.
Natalie Galcsik, 46, was struck repeatedly with a vehicle at her Pokolbin property in the wine region of the Hunter Valley on Friday.
Natalie Galcsik was allegedly murdered by her husband, Steven, at the family’s B&B cottages near Pokolbin, in the Hunter Valley wine region on Friday.
A distraught relative alerted police just after 6pm, but Galcsik’s injuries were fatal. Police said it was a “confronting” scene at the Coulson Road address.
Steven Galcsik, 47, was taken into custody without struggle and charged with one count of domestic violence murder.
The couple ran a B&B business from the property with small cottages dotted through the trees.
Reviews of their business, Unlax @ Hunter Valley, describe kangaroos, native birds and a pool for guests.
Natalie Galcsik with a child at Luna Park.Credit: Facebook
But the Galcsiks have been harbouring a great loss for the past 14 months – in August last year their seven-year-old son drowned in a dam.
The boy was pulled unconscious from a dam near their property, but he could not be revived.
Another son, Alex, has set up a crowdfunding account, saying he was left to support surviving family members.
“My mother dedicated her life to raising [her family] with selflessness and love despite difficult circumstances; she was the best mum we could have asked for.”
Alex posted an image of his mother with her cheek pressed against a pony in a lush meadow.
Social media posts show Galcsik surrounded by horses and enmeshed in Pokolbin’s local business scene.
In another photo, she holds a toddler close on her lap in the ferris wheel of Sydney’s Luna Park, the harbour behind them.
“Anyone who knew Natalie would know how kind and selfless she was,” one friend wrote online.
Steven was expected to front Newcastle Local Court on Monday, but did not leave the holding cells.
Bail was refused at least until his next court appearance in November.
Femicide researchers claim Galcsik is the 61st woman to allegedly die in Australia in an alleged act of domestic violence this year.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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