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‘Horrific’: Mother to be charged over motorway stabbing

The mother is expected to be charged with attempted murder

A woman who allegedly stabbed her two young sons on an Adelaide motorway, leaving them with critical injuries, will likely be charged with attempted murder at a bedside hearing later on Tuesday.

SA Police Superintendent Selena Dinning said the woman’s three and eight-year-old sons sustained “a number of stab wounds”, but they were in a stable condition at Adelaide’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

She said the eldest son had already had surgery and was expected to make a full recovery.

The youngest child was to have surgery later on Tuesday.

Police arrested their 35-year-old mother, from Modbury Heights, on Monday night after she allegedly stopped her silver Honda sedan on the North South Motorway at Wingfield – about 300 metres south of the Port River Expressway – and took her two sons out before stabbing them with a knife.

Dinning said a passing driver stopped to disarm the mother. Shortly afterwards other passers-by assisted him to restrain the woman.

Police arrived at the scene shortly before 11.30pm.

“We are extremely grateful to the person that stopped and rendered assistance intervening in this incident, as no doubt the situation would have been much worse had they not stopped” Superintendent Dinning said.

“It (the scene), quite frankly, was horrific.

“Police officers are very resilient but we’re also very mindful of the fact that not only for police officers but also emergency service responders and also members of the public to be confronted with an incident like this is very significant.”

The woman was arrested and taken to Royal Adelaide Hospital on Monday night. She was to undergo a health assessment before police continued interviewing her.

Superintendent Dinning said the mother would likely be charged with two counts of attempted murder. A bedside hearing was anticipated later on Tuesday.

She said police did not know what triggered the incident or to where the woman was driving.

SA Police was in discussions with the Department for Child Protection following the incident.

“We do have close relatives and yes, there is a father. But we will be having discussions with DCP about the ongoing care of those children,” Superintendent Dinning said.

“From my personal perspective, the expressway incident is the first that I became aware of this particular family, but all of that history will be brought forward before the court.”

The incident is under investigation by Western District Detectives, who are calling any witnesses to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

This article first appeared in InDaily and is republished here with permission.

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