Cairns stabbing: Kids dead | Manoora children dead
“DON’T let them take them away from us. God bless us. Forgive me for what I’ll do.”
These were the pleading screams of a woman heard by neighbours at 9pm on Thursday.
At 11:20am the next day, a young man, a 20-year-old brother of the family, walked into a Cairns house to find eight of his siblings dead.
COURIER-MAIL: FOLLOW THE COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE
Police were called to the Murray St, Manoora home to be confronted by a scene so horrifying that their “screams and shouts” for an ambulance could be heard from the street.
Senior police have confirmed to The Courier-Mail that Mersane Warria, also known as Raina Thaiday, is a person of interest in what is being described as one of the worst mass murders in Australia’s history.
No charges have been laid.
Ms Warria, 34, is undergoing a mental health assessment in Cairns hospital, where she was transported after sustaining serious injuries. She suffered stab wounds to the chest and neck.
“She was having a bad night; I heard her fighting with someone this morning about 4am,’’ a neighbour, Tahnia Ruttensteiner, said.
Ms Ruttensteiner said she saw Ms Warria “moving stuff out of the house”, claiming she was going to “make a new start”.
“I last saw her about 6am, then it was quiet.
“She was putting furniture and stuff out the front on the street, giving stuff away to family and friends.
“She said she was changing her life. She wasn’t well but she loved those kids.”
“DON’T let them take them away from us. God bless us. Forgive me for what I’ll do.”
These were the pleading screams of a woman heard by neighbours at 9pm on Thursday.
At 11:20am the next day, a young man, a 20-year-old brother of the family, walked into a Cairns house to find eight of his siblings dead.
COURIER-MAIL: FOLLOW THE COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE
Police were called to the Murray St, Manoora home to be confronted by a scene so horrifying that their “screams and shouts” for an ambulance could be heard from the street.
Senior police have confirmed to The Courier-Mail that Mersane Warria, also known as Raina Thaiday, is a person of interest in what is being described as one of the worst mass murders in Australia’s history.
No charges have been laid.
Ms Warria, 34, is undergoing a mental health assessment in Cairns hospital, where she was transported after sustaining serious injuries. She suffered stab wounds to the chest and neck.
“She was having a bad night; I heard her fighting with someone this morning about 4am,’’ a neighbour, Tahnia Ruttensteiner, said.
Ms Ruttensteiner said she saw Ms Warria “moving stuff out of the house”, claiming she was going to “make a new start”.
“I last saw her about 6am, then it was quiet.
“She was putting furniture and stuff out the front on the street, giving stuff away to family and friends.
“She said she was changing her life. She wasn’t well but she loved those kids.”
