Police to investigate 'cannibalism' claims as part of four-year-old boy murder probe

Police will pursue claims that cannibalism may have played a part in the death of a four-year-old boy in Australia, it is understood, amid widespread speculation that the murder probe into his death had taken a very dark twist.

As per Australia’s national broadcaster, the ABC, police sources have confirmed that cannibalism will form a part of the investigation into the boy’s death after his body was found on Saturday in a home on New South Wales’ Central Coast.

Police sources also told both The Daily Telegraph and the Sydney Morning Herald newspapers that the woman had allegedly made a reference to cannibalism.

As per earlier reports in the Express,the woman, who is understood to be known to the boy, was arrested and charged with murder (domestic violence) on Sunday, after police attended a property in Wyong to carry out a welfare check after she presented herself at the town’s own police station. Wyong is located about an hour’s drive north of Sydney, or roughly 62 miles from Australia’s most populated city.

Officers from the Tuggerah Lakes Police District discovered the youngster’s lifeless body at the Wyong property at approximately 4.40pm local time on Saturday (July 4). As per a report on news.com.au, police found the boy’s body with ‘significant arm injuries’. Australia’s leading news website also reported that the boy had been “deceased for some time”.

It is not yet clear if there was any evidence at the scene to suggest an act of cannibalism. According to The Sydney Morning Herald, investigators are now looking into whether cannibalism was a contributing factor in the boy’s death. The daily paper also cited police sources that were not authorised to speak publicly.

On Sunday, NSW Police Superintendent Chad Gillies of Tuggerah Lakes Police described the scene as a “confronting” experience for the first responders who attended the Wyong callout on Saturday.

“My priority at the moment now is to work through the investigation with detectives to understand exactly what happened and why it happened, and importantly, as well, providing welfare to all the police that attended last night and through the investigation,” Supt Gillies said, as per news.com.au.

“Whenever a child is a victim of violent crime and whenever a child is murdered, it strikes at the core of community. That’s why it’s absolutely important we work through this methodically, we try to understand what’s happened, why it happened. From my perspective, we owe that to that little boy to make sure that we get the exact circumstances and present them to the court in due course, and that is the focus over the coming days and weeks for investigators.”

He added the woman was known to police.

“Now is a really tough time for family and the local community of Wyong, but that’s why it’s absolutely imperative that our police pull together and make sure that we do the absolute best job we can in really difficult circumstances.”

Speaking to TV channel 9News, a neighbour recounted how he used to babysit the boy, describing him as “the happiest kid” he’d ever seen around that age.

The neighbour said he’d recently found a toy car left behind by the young child, and he would now keep it as a way to remember the now-lost little one.

“Even his toys, he’s left at my house. (He was an) angel of a kid, he used to come down, play with the dog 24/7,” he told 9News.

A family friend described the little boy was “very energetic”.

The woman appeared before the Bail Division Court on Sunday where she did not apply for bail, and it was refused. No further details of the alleged crime were heard. She will front court again next in September.