Father charged after boy, 5, dies after being stabbed in domestic dispute
A 36-year-old man is in custody after a five-year-old boy died after being stabbed during a domestic dispute at his home in Carlingford. Photo: AAP
A five year-old boy has died after being stabbed in his home in Sydney’s north-western suburbs on Friday morning in what police call a display of “horrendous violence”.
A 36-year-old man identified as the child’s father has been charged and will face Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
The grandmother, aged in her 60s, made a frantic escape in a blue sedan when the horror unfolded at the Carlingford home at 7am on Friday.
She drove about 250 metres, realised the extent of the child’s injuries and stopped to call for an ambulance at about 7am.
The boy was rushed to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, but attempts to save him failed. He died an hour later.
“The level of violence is horrendous,” NSW Police Superintendent Rob Critchlow said at the crime scene in Sydney’s north-west.
“A young boy has died from being injured in his home. It’s probably about as bad as it gets, really.”
Superintendant Critchlow said the grandmother, who wasn’t injured in the attack, did what “every grandmother would do”.
“She’s behaved in a heroic and caring manner. She’s been presented with something terrible and done her best to get the young boy to safety and to get him treatment,” he said.
“Sadly, despite her best efforts, there was nothing more she could have done.”
Paramedics treated the grandmother for shock.
The child’s mother, who was not at the home at the time, is being supported by medical staff at Westmead.
Police said they had recovered the weapon used.
“It was a sharp weapon – we believe a knife,” Superintendant Critchlow said.
A neighbour in Paul Place, Carlingford, told the ABC the boy was a “sweet little guy” and “just a happy little kid” who had lots of energy.
James Wynne, 84, who lives across the street, told the broadcaster he was shocked.
“I’m quite upset about it. I don’t want to see children hurt at anytime like that, particularly a five-year-old – he’s only a baby,” he said.
Two crime scenes have been set up, at the home on Paul Place and nearby Moseley Street in Sydney’s north-western suburbs.
-with AAP
