Melbourne Mum’s Brutal Axe Murder: Son Discovers Bloody Scene, Relative Charged with Chilling Crime
- A 44-year-old mother was allegedly killed with an axe in a brutal attack at her Epping home
- Her son, who discovered the bloody scene, told a neighbour he suspected a relative was behind the murder
- A 50-year-old Rockbank man, a relative of the victim, has been charged with murder and appeared in court on Friday
- CCTV footage shows the alleged killer arriving at the victim’s home in a boiler suit, changing clothes, and fleeing the scene
A Melbourne community is reeling in shock after a mother was brutally murdered with an axe in her own home, allegedly at the hands of a relative. The 44-year-old victim was found by her son in a pool of blood in the upstairs hallway of her Epping townhouse on Thursday evening.
The son, who discovered the gruesome scene, rushed to a neighbour’s house to call triple-0, but it was too late to save his mother. Neighbour Ross Albinelli described the son’s state as “in shock” and “very composed” despite the traumatic discovery.
“He just came home and he found her dead with blood all over the place,” Albinelli said. “He was kind of in shock and he walked away and he didn’t know what to do. I would have been punching walls if it were me, but he was very, very composed.”
The alleged killer, a 50-year-old Rockbank man, is understood to have arrived at the victim’s home wearing a boiler suit, changed clothes, and fled the scene. CCTV footage captured a Toyota Camry without number plates pulling up outside the victim’s home for 25 minutes on the morning of the murder.
Detectives were seen testing keys, found with the suspect, in the front door of the victim’s home. The Rockbank man was arrested on Thursday night and charged with murder, appearing in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday.
Police have confirmed that the suspect and the victim were known to each other, and the motive behind the alleged murder is believed to be a family dispute. The victim’s husband is currently overseas.
The community is still reeling from the shocking crime, with many neighbours expressing their condolences to the family. The investigation is ongoing, with police urging anyone with information to come forward.