Twin girls among five dead
A 24-year-old man has been charged after the bodies of two women and three children were found dead inside a Perth home on Sunday.
The charges come after a man presented at the remote Pilbara mining town of Pannawonica on Sunday morning.
The information provided by the man, which is not yet known, led officers to a home on Coode St in Bedford.
On entering, police discovered the bodies of Mara Harvey, 47, her daughters three-year-old Charlotte and two-year-old twins Beatrix and Alice, and the girls’ grandmother Beverley Quinn, 74.
Police have charged a Bedford man with five counts of murder, and he was to appear in Karratha Magistrates Court overnight.
Officers reportedly do not know how long the bodies were in the house before they were discovered.
Neighbours were reported saying they had not seen the family for a week.
Assistant Commissioner Paul Steel of the Metropolitan Region described the incident as a "heartbreaking tragedy".
‘‘This is a tragic event and it will no doubt have an impact on not only on the family and friends of the deceased, but on the whole of the community, those first responders who are faced with attending a scene with deceased people," Assistant Commissioner Steel said.
Neighbours watched on as forensic officers and homicide squad detectives descended on their quiet suburban street and started to lock down the home for further investigation.
It’s understood Perth mother Mara Harvey owned the Coode St home, and lived at the address with her partner Anthony Harvey.
Despite being years younger, Harvey proposed to Mara in 2014 and the pair had their first child together a year later.
‘‘She was pretty unlucky in love before she met him,’’ a friend told Fairfax Media.
‘‘So [when they got together] it was like ‘yay, now she gets to start a family’.’’
The Harveys both used to work for a Sino Steel Pilbara mine, and Mara Harvey sold some of her properties to help her partner start up a business.
Shortly after giving birth to her first daughter, Mara Harvey fell pregnant with twins, and the pair settled at their Bedford home with their children Charlotte, Alice and Beatrix.
Harvey joined a Facebook page, Perth & Districts Multiple Birth Association Inc, which helps aid new parents deal with the demands of raising multiple newborns at once.
A friend described s Harvey as a loving mother.
‘‘She was such a beautiful person and such a go getter and hard worker,’’ she said.
A neighbour of the family told ABC News he had not heard from the family since he returned from holiday a week prior.
‘‘We had some friends staying here . . . we had mentioned to our friends that were staying that there was likely to be some noise from the kids next door, and they were a little surprised that there wasn’t noise from the kids next door,’’ he said.
A neighbour, who only wanted to be known as Alfie, said police arrived at the home on Sunday banging on back doors and jumping fences.
‘‘The police jumped the fence yesterday,’’ he said.
‘‘They were hammering on that back door and then others went in by the front.’’
Police took the entire SIM card from his CCTV cameras on Sunday, due to their position pointing towards the rear of the Coode Street home.
‘‘I always used to wave at the kids . . . the two twins were always dressed the same,’’ he said.
‘‘Beautiful little Grandma was there she used to help.’’
Beverly Quinn was the children’s maternal grandmother, and mother of Mara.
‘‘They were a perfect family . . . this is a beautiful neighbourhood, it’s quiet,’’ Alfie said.
Bedford resident Maria Manfredini lives behind the property at the centre of the tragedy.
‘‘It’s taken us by complete shock,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s just horrific level.’’ – Fairfax kids . . . everyday, on every