Police identify the Manoora child victims

THEY were four girls aged 14, 12, 11 and two, and four boys aged nine, eight, six and five.

The mother of the seven youngest children has been arrested over their murders, but not yet charged. The oldest girl was her niece. Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar says police have spoken to all five of the children's fathers. "I don't think anybody would imagine any reaction other than absolute devastation, to be told that their child's dead. Of course that was the case," he told reporters on Saturday afternoon.

 

 He said the families have been co-operating with police, which had helped make the identification of the children easier. "Even under these horrific circumstances and the trauma they've been through, the support that the family has been giving us in this investigation has been outstanding," he said. "And it's been because of them this process was able to be done in a really calm, easy and least intrusive way we possibly could." Police are yet to release a cause of death with the autopsies still being conducted. Those results are expected in the next few days. The youngest children's mother, Mersane Warria, 37, is yet to be charged but is under police guard at a local hospital where she is in a stable condition after suffering multiple stab wounds. "Charges are being considered of course. Investigations are continuing, obviously, in that direction. At this stage we haven't proffered any charges," he said. Det Asnicar would not comment on how she sustained her injuries, whether she had undergone a mental health assessment, or any other treatment she had been given. He also would not say if she had given police her version of events yet, although she was lucid.

 

 "Her injuries aren't particularly impacting on her now," he said. Det Asnicar said the investigation would be thorough, with as many as dozens of police, including specialists, involved. "At this stage whatever I want I will get. The Queensland Police Service will support any needs that I have," he said. He said the Murray St house would remain a crime scene for several days, and police were piecing together exactly what had happened. "Every minute we have a better understanding of what went on in the house, and I can assure you that by the time this investigation's completed with, we will understand every single movement and everything that happened in that house." Det Asnicar said the house hadn't "been flagged in any special way" before, but would not comment if the family was known to child protection authorities. "There hasn't been particular issues. This is just a devastating thing that's happened. That nobody predicted."