The Chil-ling Detail Investigators Can’t Ignore: Mother Visited Police Before Two Children Died in Suspected Murder-Suicide
A South Australian mother visited her local police station the night before she and her two children drowned in waters off the state’s rugged Limestone Coast and police visited her home just hours before she was found.
Police are treating the deaths of Helena Wright, her two-year-old daughter and two-month-old son off Cape Northumberland in Port Macdonnell on Monday as a murder-suicide.
Emergency services believe mother-of-two Helena Wright, her two-year-old daughter and two-month-old son fell from the cliffs near Port Macdonnell on Monday morning. Facebook
Emergency services called off the search for the missing two-month-old boy on Wednesday afternoon, hours before police confirmed two different interactions before the trio’s death.
“South Australia Police can confirm Helena Wright attended the Mount Gambier Police Station on Sunday 26 July where she spoke with police,” a police spokesperson told nine.com.au on Wednesday night.
At 9.28am on Monday, a call from a friend triggered a welfare check at Wright’s Compton home but when the officers arrived, nobody was home, the spokesperson said.
Just an hour and a half later, someone called police to report the family car was found with its engine running in the lighthouse car park, and soon after Wright and her toddler were found dead in the water.
“As this matter is now subject to a coronial investigation, SAPOL will provide all relevant information and evidence to the coroner,” the spokesperson said.
“It is not appropriate to comment further while coronial proceedings are underway.”
“The background to any interactions with police forms part of a brief of evidence for the coroner, and whatever interactions anyone has had that’s relevant will be included in that advice to the coroner,” Superintendent Trent Cox said.
Search parties spent two days scouring the land surrounding Port Macdonnell for the missing boy until 3.30pm on Tuesday, when deteriorating conditions forced police to call off the day’s search.
A South Australian family is dealing with the loss of a mother and her toddler after they were pulled from waters near Port MacDonnell. Supplied
It was called off for good at 4.30pm on Wednesday as authorities declared there was no chance of finding the baby boy alive.
“Based on expert advice and available information, the infant could not have survived the period of time that has elapsed, either in the water or on land,” SA Police said.
“Additionally, a range of factors, including the search environment and prevailing weather conditions, significantly reduce the likelihood of locating the infant in the immediate term.”
Cox had said on Wednesday morning that “the reality is, after three days, the chances of finding the baby alive are zero sadly”.
SAPOL has committed substantial resources to the recovery and search operation, including specialist police units operating on land, sea and air, supported by the State Emergency Service (SES) and community volunteers. SAPOL
“It’s a retrieval effort, but we don’t know where he is.”
Cox said police do not have any other persons of interest.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Wright, 36, was born in Estonia and shared a family home with her husband in Compton on the outskirts of Mount Gambier.
Emergency services on the scene of the search at Port Macdonnell. SAPOL
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The search began after an abandoned Isuzu MUX was found with its engine running in a car park near Cape Northumberland about 11.15am on Monday.
Later that day, police discovered two bodies floating in the ocean: that of Wright and her 23-month-old daughter, but were unable to find the baby boy.
Cox said the police would listen to expert advice on whether to extend a formal search for the body of the baby, but said efforts closer to the shore would continue even after the search officially ends.
“Whatever decision is made, we will still continue to scour the foreshore in the coming days and possibly weeks,” he said.
He said the welfare of officers and searchers would need to be considered, and that specialist psychologists were heading to Mount Gambier to provide support to first responders and the local community.
Cox added police were now in the process of a “delicate” investigation.
“The investigation of any death is delicate, but when it involves children of 23 months and [two] months, it adds another layer of complexity, but also trauma for those involved,” he said.
Police were called to the car park near Cape Northumberland when a white Isuzu MUX was found abandoned with its engine running. SA Police
Limestone Coast Mayor Kylie Boston said the deaths have left the community stunned.
“You hope these things don’t ever happen,” Boston said.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said the tragedy had shocked people to the core.
“It’s very difficult at this point in time to understand exactly what transpired … but whenever we see the loss of anybody, it’s a tragedy,” he said on Tuesday.
“Where it involves children, that breaks your heart, particularly when you know there is currently a two-month-old baby missing.”
Police have asked for anyone who saw a white Isuzu MUX with South Australian registration plates S592BJR, or who may have captured dashcam footage of the vehicle, to contact authorities.
A helicopter, plane and drones were called to the scene to help with the search. 9News
Located on the state’s Limestone Coast about 25 kilometres south of Mount Gambier, Port Macdonnell is the southernmost town in South Australia.
The former trading port is now a popular destination for fishing tours and is close to a series of walking tracks and sinkholes.
