Blood on walls where NZ mum, son found dead
Inside the apartment in Sydney police found a disturbing scene. The bodies of a New Zealand mother and her 4-year-old son and barely decipherable words – scribbled in blood near the pair.
A day after the grim discovery, police say they are keeping an open mind as to whether a third person was involved in what happened to Stacey Docherty and young Seth, or if it was a case of murder-suicide.
It is understood rambling messages were written over the walls, some of which appeared to be in blood, when emergency services found the pair at 1.20pm on Monday.
Docherty’s ex-partner and the father of her son is believed to have raised the alarm when he knocked on the door and no-one answered.
He expressed his grief Facebook post yesterday.
‘‘I’m going through some gnarly process but will get through this,’’ he said. in a
‘‘I will post some pics of me and my son for those (many) who never had the pleasure of seeing him.
‘‘I feel grateful for a brief time I got to be a father to a beautiful little boy. Vale Seth Bon Docherty.’’
It is unclear how the mother and son died with police ruling out gas as the cause.
The mother-of-one listed her job on Facebook as a nursing manager from Christchurch.
A family member in Christchurch said she had not been in touch with Docherty for a long time. ‘‘She has lived and worked in Sydney for many years,’’ the woman said.
Yesterday, a spokeswoman said police were still investigating whether it was a murder-suicide or if another person was involved in the deaths.
‘‘It’s still very much investigation,’’ she said.
Docherty was known to police after officers attended the street last year when she smashed three of her neighbours’ cars with a bat following a dispute over parking. under