on 13-02-2014 12:44 PM
Devastated friends have taken to social media to express their shock and sorrow after an 11-year-old boy was killed by his father at a cricket oval in Melbourne's southeast.
Luke Batty died from severe head injuries at the oval in Tyabb, near Hastings, after he was attacked following the local club's cricket training.
The year six Flinders Christian Community College pupil was treated at the scene but was unable to be revived.
The victim's 54-year-old father, from Chelsea Heights, was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition, after police say he came at officers with a knife after they were called to the scene in Tyabb, near Hastings, about 6.30pm (AEDT).
Commander Doug Fryer would not confirm if the father inflicted the boy's "quite brutal" injuries or exactly how the boy died, insisting that it was a matter for the coroner.
"I confirm that the male shot by police is father of the child who is deceased and we're not looking for anyone else," he said during a media briefing at the scene last night.
"I can confirm that the young boy has died of significant injuries. I'm not going to go into the detail of how they occurred or what they were," Fryer said on Thursday morning.
WHAAAAT????!!!!
on 13-02-2014 05:40 PM
Even though the mother mentioned the husband had mental problems, she also mentioned the family was a target of domestic violence, so she would have known he was capable of certain things, but she said, she never thought he would kill anyone. She also said, that domestic violence can happen in any family.
on 13-02-2014 05:43 PM
@freakiness wrote:No, I read something about him being an only child.
He may be...the media do gets things wrong.
on 13-02-2014 05:44 PM
If the father wasn't killed, he may have tried to kill/seriously injure other bystanders or police personnel nearby.. he obviously wasn't capable of rational thoughts. If tthe boy has other siblings.. no chance the father can ever hurt them now either.
on 13-02-2014 05:45 PM
Sure.
But someone with a mental illness isn't responsible for their actions. It goes beyond domestic violence.
The Waterlow murders from a few years back are a good example. The families also had AVOs against their son/brother.
on 13-02-2014 05:49 PM
@i-need-a-martini wrote:Sure.
But someone with a mental illness isn't responsible for their actions. It goes beyond domestic violence.
The Waterlow murders from a few years back are a good example. The families also had AVOs against their son/brother.
I am well aware of that fact from personal experience. I had an AVO against my first husband, he had mental problems and he inflicked domestic violence on me and my children.
on 13-02-2014 06:09 PM
No the mother saw her son die, as did his siblings. Those siblings also saw their father shot
The mother was at the cricket ground but she didn't see her son being attacked (a good thing). No siblings.
Mother first thought it was an accident
She says when she realised something was wrong, she thought an accident had happened and tried to call an ambulance.
“I tried to ring but couldn’t ring because I was too stressed. I looked for help and I ran towards help, screaming ‘get an ambulance, this is really bad’,” she said.
“I thought Greg had accidentally hurt him from a bowling accident … and that Greg’s anguish was because he had hurt Luke accidentally.
“I was screaming, I was inconsolable.”
Paramedics called to the sports ground on Frankston-Flinders Road treated the boy but were unable to revive him.
Police are refusing to give more details of the incident, but some witnesses say a cricket bat was used.
Ms Batty says it was only later that she realised that what happened to Luke was not an accident.
“What I saw that I thought was Greg comforting Luke and helping him with what I thought was an accident, wasn’t necessarily what I saw,” she said.
“The full extent of what happened I don’t want anyone, other than the [coroner], to know.
“Luke was killed by his father. No-one else including myself needs to know the details of what he actually did.”
on 13-02-2014 06:17 PM
@twinkles**stars wrote:What siblings?
We were told his siblings were there. Maybe they weren't? I wasn't there, were you?
He was an only child, never any mention of siblings from articles I've seen. Just him and his mum. So very sad.
on 13-02-2014 06:18 PM
@am*3 wrote:No the mother saw her son die, as did his siblings. Those siblings also saw their father shot
The mother was at the cricket ground but she didn't see her son being attacked (a good thing). No siblings.
Mother first thought it was an accident
She says when she realised something was wrong, she thought an accident had happened and tried to call an ambulance.
“I tried to ring but couldn’t ring because I was too stressed. I looked for help and I ran towards help, screaming ‘get an ambulance, this is really bad’,” she said.
“I thought Greg had accidentally hurt him from a bowling accident … and that Greg’s anguish was because he had hurt Luke accidentally.
“I was screaming, I was inconsolable.”
Paramedics called to the sports ground on Frankston-Flinders Road treated the boy but were unable to revive him.
Police are refusing to give more details of the incident, but some witnesses say a cricket bat was used.
Ms Batty says it was only later that she realised that what happened to Luke was not an accident.
“What I saw that I thought was Greg comforting Luke and helping him with what I thought was an accident, wasn’t necessarily what I saw,” she said.
“The full extent of what happened I don’t want anyone, other than the [coroner], to know.
“Luke was killed by his father. No-one else including myself needs to know the details of what he actually did.”
god that sounds bad
on 13-02-2014 06:21 PM
He was an only child, he didnt have any siblings, just his mother and father and the boy.
on 13-02-2014 06:23 PM
@purple_haize wrote:He was an only child, he didnt have any siblings, just his mother and father and the boy.
Yep, most of us got that.