Jacinta Beth Sells, 31, is accused of fatally stabbing her baby during a drug-fuelled “family violence incident” in front of other relatives, including a “young person”, in Perth, Australia
A mother has been arrested after her seven-month-old baby was discovered dead from stab wounds in Australia.
Jacinta Beth Sells, 31, who is thought to have been under the influence of drugs at the time, cried as she was remanded into custody following her court appearance in Perth, Western Australia (WA).
At around 3am on July 14, police were called to the family home, where they found the infant had sustained fatal knife wounds as a result of a “family violence incident” and Sells having been “drug affected”.
The suspect was first taken to hospital before she was taken into police custody.
According to ABC News, the mother spent most of the hearing looking at the floor and started weeping towards the end. She nodded to acknowledge the charge of murder after it was read out to her.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said emergency responders arrived at a scene that will “haunt” them for the rest of their professional lives.
He added: “There would be very few cases where you would have a crime scene of such a horrific nature for our officers and for first responders involved. It’s something that will most likely haunt them for the rest of their careers.”
WA police said that a number of relatives were in the house when the baby was killed, including a male, a female and a young person, Col Blanch said.
The state’s premier, Roger Cook, said the case was “dreadful”.
He added: “Our hearts go out to everyone involved in that. Obviously, there’s family and friends who are impacted by the information that’s coming through.”
He also thanked the emergency services, saying they “would have gone into that scene confronted by some very, very difficult circumstances”.
Sells’ next hearing will be at Stirling Garden Magistrates Court on August 20.
Earlier this year, a teen mum was accused of stabbing her newborn baby to death before sending a horrifying video to the infant’s father in France.
The baby boy’s mother, aged 17, was identifiedas the main suspect after the tragic incident at a flat in Tarare, eastern France. Local reports alleged she sent footage to a man, reportedly the child’s father, shortly after the killing, who then phoned the police. The Lyon public prosecutor’s office has now opened an investigation into the murder of a minor under 15 years old, according to news broadcaster BFM TV.
The body of the baby was reportedly found under a bed, wrapped in a sheet. Investigators believe the baby may have been stabbed with a pair of scissors, and initial examinations suggested the child had likely just been born at the time of the killing.