Police are investigating whether a 12-year-old girl allegedly murdered by her stepfather had been bashed the night before and sent to bed to sleep it off.
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The accused, 31, was charged with murder on Wednesday after he was arrested several kilometres from the family’s Aberglasslyn home two hours after the girl’s mother discovered her daughter dead in her bed.
Police will allege that the girl had been assaulted sometime on Tuesday night before she either went to bed or was placed there.
Exactly when the girl died, and what injuries caused her death, will not be known until forensic pathologists conduct a full autopsy as early as Thursday.
No weapons have been found at the home.
The mother made the horrific discovery about 5.45am before raising the alarm, but it was too late.
Three other children also in the home were not injured and it was unclear whether they had witnessed the alleged assault or the girl’s lifeless body.
Specialist detectives, trained to interview young children, were also called in to speak with the surviving children in the house.
“The body did show some signs of violence, but in so far as when violence was inflicted, we are still making inquiries in relation to that,” Central Hunter commander Detective Superintendent Craig Jackson said.
“It would appear that there have been no previous reports [of domestic violence] made.’’
However, part of the interview process with the other family members may shed some light on what occurred behind closed doors.
School friends and neighbours of the dead girl, who can not be identified for legal reasons, arrived at the scene on Wednesday to place flowers and tributes.
Sara Diamond’s house backs onto the home where the girl lived, she described them as a ‘‘happy family’’.
‘‘I sometimes heard the kids playing in the backyard or walking past the house,’’ she said.
‘‘She was a happy normal girl, I’d see her walking to school most days.’’
Rebecca Moore, also from Aberglasslyn, said her daughter went to school at Rutherford with the girl last year.
‘‘It’s just so tragic and sad, it shouldn’t happen,’’ she said.
‘‘She was apparently a beautiful girl, always very nice, very lovely.’’
‘‘No matter how you look at this it’s nothing short of a tragedy,’’ Detective Superintendent Jackson said.
‘‘The message I’ll put out there to the community is if you are experiencing domestic violence, if you know of someone who is experiencing domestic violence, then contact your local police.’’
The dead girl was a student at a high school in the Maitland area.
Nearby residents said the McKeachies Run area was usually quiet and incident-free place.
One resident, Megan Colman, said the area was usually lovely and she was shocked to hear news of the young girl’s death on Wednesday morning.
She said many residents in the area kept to themselves.
“Everyone is busy with their lives, I guess,” Ms Colman said.
“We’ve never had any issues or problems.
“I didn’t know the people but you just don’t expect that sort of thing.”
Ms Colman said the only hint of a disturbance had been her dogs becoming restless and barking, which got her attention because it was out of character for them.
She said she thought the dogs could have been barking at someone breaking into a nearby residential construction site, but she saw no signs of a disturbance.
The accused will face Maitland Local Court on Thursday.
