An Indigenous mother whose son was kidnapped, tortured and murdered by her former partner says her baby could still be alive if police had done their job properly and believes officers failed her family in “every way”.
In testimony on Thursday, Tamica Mullaley says she described how she was left bleeding after being attacked by her abusive partner Mervyn Bell in Broome in 2013 – but when police arrived after being called to assist her, they arrested her, claiming she was abusive to officers.
Bell returned to the house, took the boy and murdered him. Bell was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering and sexually assaulting Charlie. Bell killed himself in prison in 2015.
Mullaley says she told the inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children on Thursday how her father, Ted, had repeatedly tried to raise the alarm. Ted told police Bell had made threats towards the baby and that they needed to immediately search for him.
But authorities took hours to act on the information, before issuing incorrect licence plate details for the car Bell was driving when he took the baby, Mullaley said.
When asked if she felt police failed her and Charlie, Mullaley replied: “Bloody oath they did, in every way.”
“He would still be here if they did their job right, there’s only one road out of Broome and if they had of done their job they would have been able to get him along that road,” Mullaley told Guardian Australia.
After they found out Charlie was dead, she alleged police came to her house and “were abusing and being racist towards my dad”.
“If my family were white, there would have been more care, more help,” she said.
Mullaley was charged with resisting arrest, while Ted Mullaley was charged with obstructing arrest.
The WA government apologised in 2022 over the police treatment of the family, and both Mullaley and her father were officially pardoned by the WA attorney general, John Quigley. Quigley said both had been charged while enduring “the unthinkable”.
Mullaley said she told the inquiry police officers needed cultural competency training specific to the regions in which they worked.
After traveling from Broome to Perth for this week’s hearing, Mullaley met with senators who form part of the inquiry committee on Friday. She said she was grateful for the opportunity to share her family’s anguish, in the hope that it could bring change and accountability.
“We’ve all come in and been invited here. It shows they’re aware of it. They’re aware that there is something wrong and it needs to be changed,” the Yamatji mother said.
The Mullaley family has fought for years for an inquest into baby Charlie’s death in the hopes that no family would have to endure a similar pain. Mullaley said she told the committee inquests into missing or murdered Aboriginal women and children need to be mandatory.
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Chair of the inquiry, Queensland senator Paul Scarr, said the inquiry was critical to improving responses to missing and murdered Indigenous women and children and preventing violence.
“As a Senate committee, we need to shine a bright light on this issue and grab the attention of lawmakers, stakeholders and the Australian public. We have people in our community who have been absolutely traumatised,” he said.
“We have to focus on doing whatever we can, in a practical sense to come up with recommendations to try and constructively address this.”
Dr Hannah McGlade, a member of the UN permanent forum on Indigenous issues and women’s safety advocate, is supporting families of those who have been murdered.
She said reforms are needed to ensure Indigenous families are treated appropriately in all circumstances.
“We see a pattern of under-policing when it comes to Aboriginal women and children as victims and over-policing of Aboriginal people as offenders or perceived offenders,” she said.
“It’s a serious violation of our international human rights obligations and there has to be appropriate responses by the Australian government.”
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
Hyderabad: YSR Telangana Party (YSRTP) leader Y.S. Sharmila said on Wednesday that her uncle Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy was not murdered for his property as he had already bequeathed his entire property to his daughter Suneetha.
Sharmila told reporters here that Vivekananda Reddy’s property was in the name of his daughter for a long time.
Her remarks assumed significance in view of the allegations by some of the accused in the case and the alleged second wife of Vivekananda Reddy that he was killed as he wanted to give his property to his son from the second wife.
Sharmila, sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, also said that if Suneetha’s husband Rajasekhar Reddy wanted property he would have killed Suneetha and not Vivekananda Reddy as all the assets were already in her name.
She also found fault with the allegations being made against the slain former minister and former MP. “Vivekananda Reddy was a people’s man. People of Pulivendula and Kadapa district know him. He lived a simple life,” she said.
She said it was unfortunate that some media houses were indulging in character assassination by airing baseless stories about his personal life. “Nobody has a right to speak about the personal life of my uncle,” she said.
Vivekananda Reddy, brother of former chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was murdered in his house in Pulivendula on March 15, 2019, few weeks before the elections.
The CBI, which is probing the case, recently arrested Vivekananda Reddy’s cousin Y.S. Bhaskar Reddy and grilled the latter’s son and Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy. The agency suspects that they hatched a conspiracy to kill Vivekananda Reddy as he was not in favour of YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) fielding Avinash Reddy as the candidate from Kadapa Lok Sabha seat.
Vivekananda Reddy reportedly wanted Jagan Mohan Reddy to field the latter’s sister Sharmila or mother Y.S. Vijayamma as the party candidate.
Avinash Reddy, who has approached the Telangana High Court for anticipatory bail, alleged that the CBI was trying to implicate them in the case. He claimed that the CBI ignored key facts in the case, including that Vivekananda Reddy’s family members were unhappy with him for marrying another woman. He also claimed that Vivekananda Reddy wanted to give his property to his second wife and son.
Hyderabad: An eight-year-old boy was brutally murdered in Hyderabad in what his family has suspected to be a case of human sacrifice. But the police said they have no evidence of it.
The body of Abdul Wahid was found in a drain in Moosapet early Friday.
The boy went missing on Thursday from his house in Allauddin Koti area of Sanath Nagar and his family had lodged a complaint with the police.
Police have arrested Imran, a transgender, and four others for the murder. The victim’s family ransacked his house and claimed to have found indications of a human sacrifice.
However, the police said the boy was murdered over a financial dispute between Imran and the boy’s father Waseem Khan, who runs a business of readymade garments.
After the boy went missing on Thursday evening, his father had lodged a complaint with the police. Based on CCTV footage in the area, police arrested Imran, who confessed to killing the boy and throwing the body in a drain.
According to the victim’s family, Imran had asked the boy to fetch ORS. When the boy, who was fasting, went to Imran’s house to give the ORS packet, the latter caught hold of him.
The accused strangled him to death by forcibly dipping his head in the bucket filled with water. After confirming the child had died, Imran, with the help of an auto-rickshaw driver, stuffed the body in the water bucket and a bag and threw it in the drain.
The murder led to high tension in the area.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Srinivas Rao said dispute over financial matters led to the murder. He, however, said if the victim’s family suspects it to be a case of human sacrifice, they will probe the case from that angle as well.
Minister for animal husbandry T. Srinivas Yadav visited the areas.
He clarified that it was not a case of human sacrifice but assured the victim’s family that culprits will not be spared.
He said a fast track court will be constituted to ensure speedy trial and punishment.
Hyderabad: A daily wage earner was murdered by his son at Kulsumpura in the city late on Tuesday night following an altercation.
The deceased person was identified as N Venkatesh 45, a resident of Kargil Nagar in Kulsumpura of Hyderabad. His wife and son Sai Kumar stayed with him.
“Venkatesh got addicted to liquor and after coming home in drunken condition picked up quarrels with his family members. On Tuesday night, he came home in drunken condition when his son protested his attitude and afterward strangulated him using a towel. He died due to it,” SHO Kulsumpura police station, T Ashok Kumar said.
The Kulsumpura police booked a case and shifted the body to the mortuary. Sai Kumar reportedly surrendered before the police.
SRINAGAR: In a shocking incident, a 30- year-old woman was allegedly murdered and then chopped into pieces by a man in Central Kashmir’s Budgam district, police said on Sunday.
The police said that on March 8, one Tanveer Ahmad Khan of Soibug Budgam submitted an application to the Police Post Soibug, stating that his sister (name withheld), age 30 years left for the coaching classes on March 7 but didn’t return home. Accordingly police said that a missing report was registered and the investigation was started.
“Police rounded up several suspects including Shabir Ahmad Wani son of Abdul Aziz Wani of Mohandpora Budgam. After sustained interrogation, Shabir confessed to having murdered the missing girl,” it said.
To hide his crime, the police said, the culprit had cut the body into pieces and buried them at different locations. “On his disclosure, the parts have been recovere, it said. Medico-legal formalities are underway, the police said. “The investigation is on,” it added.(GNS)
Hyderabad: An unidentified woman was murdered by some persons at Begum Bazar in the Old City on Saturday night.
The woman aged around 30 years was found dead in a room located near the Aziz Plaza shopping complex by locals who informed the police. Station House Officer (SHO), Begum Bazar police station along with staff reached the spot and examined the scene.
“Unidentified persons throttled the woman to death. Another person known to the woman is suspected of killing the woman. Closed circuit camera footage is being examined. Now we are waiting for the autopsy report to know if she was sexually assaulted,” said N Shankar, SHO Begum Bazar police station.
A case under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) has been registered and an investigation is underway.
Hyderabad: Tension gripped Dilkushanagar in Bowenpally when a realtor was brutally killed by unknown persons at his house on Tuesday evening.
Moosa Siddiqui, the deceased was into real estate business and having disputes with some persons pertaining to properties in the city.
On Tuesday evening, when Siddiqui was at his house some persons came to meet him and attacked him brutally with a dagger resulting in death. After killing him. the killer escaped from the spot.
On receiving information, the Bowenpally police and senior officials of North Zone reached the spot and started investigation. The Task Force team also came to the spot and began their own efforts to nab the killers of Siddiqui.
The police came to know through family members and others that Siddiqui was having some financial disputes with some persons from Chandrayangutta and they might have killed him.
