Two parents and their teenage sons have been found dead at their home in the affluent Perth suburb of Mosman Park in a suspected murder-suicide, Western Australian police have said. Officers were called to the property on Mott Close at 8.15am on Friday after a person known to the family raised the alarm.
Police discovered the bodies of a 50-year-old man, a 49-year-old woman, and two boys aged 14 and 16 inside the double-storey house. A cat and two dogs were also found dead. Detective Jessica Securo said the family were known to each other and that a note had been left at the scene, leading officers to treat the deaths as a murder-suicide.
“It is believed these persons are known to each other and are part of the family unit,” Detective Securo said. She added that there was no apparent weapon used and no history of domestic violence reported to police. “The family have no reported family violence matters with police.”
Both children had “significant health challenges” and had been in contact with care services, Detective Securo said, though she declined to provide further details for privacy reasons. A neighbour said the two teenagers were non-verbal, and one of the boys attended the Peter Moyes Centre at Christ Church Grammar School, which supports children with autism and learning difficulties.
Police were working to establish a timeline, with Detective Securo saying it was unclear whether the incident happened that morning or the night before. The bodies were not found together, but all were inside the property. The area remained cordoned off through the afternoon as forensic teams examined the scene.
The principal of Christ Church Grammar School, Alan Jones, emailed families to say the school’s thoughts and prayers were with the family, adding that no further statement would be released at this time out of respect and to allow the investigation to continue.
