A STEPNEY father has been charged with murdering his three-year-old son, who died after being stabbed this morning.
Emergency services were responding to a minor two-car crash on Gorge Rd, at the intersection of Hockley Tce at Athelstone, about 9am when a man driving a ute flagged down police.
Police say the 36-year-old man approached police stating he had injured his son, who was in the ute.
SA Ambulance Service crews were called and treated the boy, 3, for multiple stab wounds before he was rushed to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, where he died.
The boy’s father, who was driving the black Volkswagon Amarok ute, was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital for a possibly self-inflicted neck wound.
Police confirmed that the boy had been stabbed in the ute.
Superintendent Graeme Adcock, the police officer in charge of eastern Adelaide, said the man had been charged with murder but was undergoing surgery and would not be interviewed until Wednesday evening at the earliest.
“Understandably the boy’s mother is overcome by grief and police have not yet been able to take a statement from her,” he said.
“At this stage of the investigation there is no indication of any history of domestic violence.”He said the investigation was still at an early stage and “we’re not able to say exactly whether it is mental health issues (that led to the tragedy)”.
“Everyone is involved in this, as you can imagine — the mother and very close relatives and friends are extremely distraught, police officers involved are very upset and ambulance officers are very upset,” he said.
“We’re fairly confident that the vehicle is the actual crime scene.”
Earlier, at the scene in Athelstone, Inspector Seamus McDaid said the boy’s mother reported her son had been taken from the family’s Stepney home about 8.25am.Inspector McDaid said the mother had concerns for the safety of her child.
“This is a tragic set of circumstances and a tragic incident and our sympathy goes out to the family,” he said.
“It was also a difficult incident for the police and the ambulance officers to deal with when they arrived on scene.
“(The father) approached the police ... and told them his child had been injured.nsp McDaid said police were yet to establish where the father was driving to and when the child had been injured.
“Anything to do with a young child is really tragic for everybody involved, both for the family and the witnesses who were on the scene and of course the police and ambulance officers who had to deal with this situation.”
He said the family had lived together at the home in Ann St, Stepney.
Family and friends gathered there to console the boy’s mother.The couple is believed to have one other child.
A neighbour of the family said he was shocked and saddened by the news.
“I’m shaking, I mean for a child to die, I’m freaked out,” he said.
“They (SAPOL) have spoken to me but they didn’t tell me what was going on.”
The man, who has lived near the family for “about five to 10 years”, described the boy’s father as “such a nice guy”.
“Something must have happened for him to (do this),” he said.
“She (the wife) comes across as just a normal, everyday sort of girl and he comes across as a normal, everyday nice guy.”
The man said he never suspected something like this could happen in their eastern suburbs street.
He said he often heard the family playing in the backyard.
“Every now and then the kid’s football is over the fence, so (we throw it back) … no problems,” he said.
“Not that I’ve been introduced, but I’ve seen other people, probably other parents (coming in and out of the house) and everything is above board.”
Police took items away from the family home in bags.
A Gorge Rd resident said the scene at Athelstone where the boy was found was tragic.
“It’s horrific for everyone and it’s horrible to think that it happened in this area,” he said.
A Families SA spokesman confirmed to Advertiser.com.au that the family “has no history of contact” with the child protection agency.
The boy’s death will be investigated by the Child Death and Serious Injury Review Committee once all criminal proceedings are finalised.
Premier Jay Weatherill said he would seek briefings on the family’s history and contact with government agencies.
Mr Weatherill said he was “horrified” when he heard about the stabbing.
“It’s almost unthinkable that an event such as this could occur,” he said. “Any violent crime perpetrated on a child is absolutely abhorrent and its difficult to even understand or comprehend.
“It would shock all South Australians.”
Anyone who has information or who saw the ute en route to Athelstone is asked to contact police via Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or on the website here .
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