Crime in Australia
Charlise's body was found in a barrel on the banks of the Colo River north-west of the city on Tuesday
A radio host has been heavily criticised after hosting an on-air prize giveaway about alleged murder victim Charlise Mutten.
Sydney 2SM host Marcus Paul on Thursday asked his listeners to correctly guess which school the nine-year-old went to for a chance at winning singer Adele's new CD.
The segment came just two days after Charlise's body was found in a barrel on the banks of the Colo River north-west of the city. Her stepfather Justin Stein, 31, has been charged with her murder.
Paul on Wednesday said Charlise's death shouldn't be used as 'political fodder' against Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The DJ began the competition by saying the schoolgirl was a 'beautiful young girl who was allegedly tragically murdered'.
'Give us a call if you happen to have the answer to that question… if you get it correct you get the goodies,' he said.
'Can't remember the name, do you want to have a guess, time's ticking,' Paul told one listener who struggled to remember where the little girl went to school.
Charlise Mutten's body was found in a plastic barrel on the banks of the Colo River, days after she was reported missing from the Blue Mountains on January 14.
I was feeling reasonably happy this morning till I came to this item in the newspaper.
An explorer who collected Aboriginal heads and a house with 40 pairs of human ears nailed to the walls: Read the shocking atrocities some white settlers committed against indigenous Australians - as debate rages over our national day
Atrocities by white settlers against indigenous Australians over the nation's first 150 years include massacres, taking Aboriginals' heads as souvenirs and a house (bottom, right) owned by two sadistic pastoralists which had 40 pairs of human ears nailed to its walls. Frank Hann had a series of 'black boys' including Talbot (pictured together, top right) as he worked for various colonial governments and boasted of cutting of theheads of 'natives' and sending them to London as souvenirs. Western Australia had a policy of shackling prisoners who had stolen cattle with neck chains (main, left) which it claimed was 'more humane' than handcuffs and the practice was still being used in the early 20th century.
What we are only just learning about the passed! On Australia Day too.
A series of haunting images show the cruelty Aboriginal prisoners faced at the turn of the century from 1890s
29, 2022 4:53 PM Emily MoultonTOPICSPerthNow - SouthernCrimeSouthWA News
This is the Huntingdale father who committed the unspeakable on Friday by killing his own children before taking his own life.
Indika Gunathilaka was expected to drop off his six-year-old son, Kohan, and four-year-old daughter, Lily, to their mother that afternoon at an agreed location.
But instead the 40-year-old, who in December posted an 18-minute monologue on Facebook claiming he was suffering from depression, cut short their precious lives then took his own.
Kohan with his father Indika Gunathilaka. Credit: facebook/supplied
WA Police confirmed on Saturday they were treating the tragedy as a double-murder suicide but would not discuss the circumstances surrounding the family dynamics — or the man’s mental health.
Assistant Commissioner Allan Adams revealed that the children’s mother frantically called police concerned for their welfare after they did not arrive at the pick-up point.
Horror sceneHUNTINGDALE TRAGEDY: Family, friends honour kids
She then called family members who rushed to the Essington Street address before calling police.
However, she was not aware her children had died until after police attended the scene.
Mr Gunathilaka previously worked as a town planner and set up his own business IMG Town Planning and Development Solutions in 2014.
Indika Gunathilaka killed his two children. Credit: facebook/supplied
He was also a singer and founding committee member of the Western Australia Royal College Old Boys Association, a social group for Sri Lankan men.
In the 18-minute video, Mr Gunathilaka claimed to have been recently diagnosed with depression and likened the illness to being in a “deep, dark hole”.
“People who’ve known me well enough for long enough I feel certain they may not think of me as someone going through depression,” he said.
“I’m not ashamed or embarrassed to say it out loud because it was not self-inflicted. It was not drug or alcohol-induced. It’s just how life worked out.
Police continue to investigate the suspected double-murder suicide in Huntingdale. Credit: Daniel Wilkins/The West Australian
With family photos on the wall behind him and a dog barking in the background, he spoke directly to the camera.
“The unpleasant side of mental health issues.. is, not only does it affect you, it affects the people around you,” he said.
“We’ve all stuffed up. Sometimes big time.
“Hopefully those stuff-ups or f... ups have not been irreversible or been detrimental to someone to the extent it’s irreversible damage.”
Gunathilaka’s Facebook page is also littered with posts about mental health awareness and self-help.
On New Year’s Day he posted that this was the “Year of truth and justice” and just two days before he murdered Kohan and Lily he posted a photo of him standing on a beach holding their hands.
Friends of the 40-year-old Sir Lankan Australian have also been posting on social media about the tragedy saying they wished he had “reached out”.
About three months ago I think it was there was a little baby missing now found in a freezer, this little girl above was found in a barrel in the river! What is the matter with Australian men?
I think it is time we had the Death Penalty, there always seems to be some little on murdered in this country.