A 24-year-old man was charged for killing his wife, three toddlers and mother-in-law at their suburban family home in Australia. The accused had used a blunt instrument and knives to kill his family members, the police said on Monday.
Police charged Anthony Robert Harvey with the murders of his two-year-old twins Alice and Beatrix, his three-year-old daughter Charlotte, his 41-year-old wife Mara and his 73-year-old mother in law Beverly Quinn in the southwestern city of Perth.
According to the police, no firearms were used in the attacks.
The bodies of the five victims were recovered by the police after the accused on Sunday walked to the police station, some 1,500 kilometres north of the city. The incident was reported to the police a week after the death of the family members.
The accused is believed to have remained at the incident spot for few days.
“We noticed that the house next door was pretty quiet, which was unusual,” said a neighbour of the family.
“We could hear and see the kids playing in the backyard quite often,” he said.
Other neighbours spoke of a shocked community that had been close, calm and peaceful.
The accused Harvey is expected to return to court on September 19.
Mass killings are rare in Australia, with this appearing to be the third such family tragedy to hit Western Australia state in recent months.
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