Mum, 47, charged with stabbing her three children at Baulkham Hills home

A mother has been charged with carrying out a horrific knife attack on her three children in their family home in northwest Sydney.

The lawyer for a mother accused of stabbing her own children inside a home in Baulkham Hills has described the alleged incident as a “tragedy”.

NSW Police charged the 47-year-old mother with three counts of wound with attempt to murder for the alleged attack on Monday night.

Her matter was heard briefly in Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday, where her solicitor Peter Guirguis did not apply for bail on her behalf.

He described the case as “a tragedy” to reporters outside court.

“It’s a tragic case for all concerned ... we won’t be making any further comment,” he said.

The woman will next appear before the court in May.

Police said they suspect the matter may be an attempted murder suicide. Photo by Gaye Gerard / NewsWire

Police have also taken out an interim AVO in order to protect the woman’s husband.

The father of the three children - aged 10, 13 and 16 - was woken up by screams and stepped in to save them during the alleged knife attack, police said on Monday.

The three children and their mother were found at the scene with stab wounds.

All were transported to hospital for treatment, where the mother remains under police guard.

Detective Superintendent Naomi Moore said police believed the three children and their father were in their bedrooms – and possibly asleep – at the time of the alleged attack.

She said police suspected it was an alleged attempted murder suicide and that a household knife had been seized.

“Waking up to what I believe to be a number of screams or yells, (the father) has … from what I am told secured the weapon and he’s contacted police,” Superintendent Moore said.

“It’s tragic, it’s sad – it’s certainly not something that my staff or I want to wake up to on a Monday morning.”

Superintendent Moore said there had been no previous reports of domestic violence in the home.

Police Superintendent Naomi Moore said police believe the three children were asleep at the time of the attack. Photo by Gaye Gerard / NewsWire

She alleged the woman’s behaviour was described as “a bit erratic” in the lead-up to the alleged stabbing.

“As sad as it is, we haven’t dealt with this family before and I only wish that maybe we had,” she said.

“The only thing I can be grateful for is those children should make a full physical recovery – in terms of psychological recovery, I guess time will tell.”

Originally published as Mum, 47, charged with stabbing her three children at Baulkham Hills home