St Mary’s stabbing: Sister speaks out after mum-of-four Drew Douglas was killed in her own home
The heartbroken sister of a mother of four who was stabbed to death 14 hours after an emergency call from her home went unanswered has accused police of abandoning her.
Drew Douglas, 31, was found by police with stab wounds to her chest at her home in St Mary’s in western Sydney just before 7am on Wednesday.
Ambulance personnel were unable to save her.
It later transpired that police received a call from a man — believed to be Ms Douglas’s partner, Shaun King — at 8:40 p.m. on the Edmondson Avenue lot on Tuesday night, but emergency services were not present.
Police have launched a critical incident to investigate why no officers have been dispatched.
Drew Douglas (pictured), 31, was found by police with stab wounds to her chest at her home in St Mary’s in western Sydney just before 7am on Wednesday
Ms Douglas’ sister Jade (pictured) has accused authorities of abandoning her after police failed to respond to a call for welfare from her property 14 hours before she was found
King, 35, turned himself in to Campbelltown police station at 7:30am on Wednesday, about 45 minutes after Ms Douglas was found following another triple-0 call from someone living in the house.
King was charged with the murder of Mrs Douglas on Wednesday evening. He was taken into custody and will appear in court on October 18.
Now the victim’s sister, Jade Douglas, has accused authorities of abandoning the “mother of four beautiful little girls from four weeks to twelve years old.”
“Hours prior to her death, the justice system failed her when they failed to respond to the call to police,” Jade wrote on a GoFundMe page created to cover funeral costs.
Mrs Douglas’s body was taken from the suburban home in St Mary’s, western Sydney, to an emergency services vehicle, wearing a tarpaulin (pictured) used to protect her remains
A crime scene detective wearing a full suit is pictured taking a bag of evidence from the house
“No evidence has yet been released as to what that call entailed, but it is believed no police officers were on duty that night came to the house for a welfare check on Shaun, Drew or the children, despite the history of domestic violence between the two .’
Jade said family and friends were “shattered by the loss of such a young, brave and beautiful person who was known for helping where help was needed”.
“Their two eldest children are old enough to understand that their mother will never come back, and they are fully aware of the situation in their family home.
“And now these 4 young girls will grow up without a mother or father to see them through life’s toughest challenges, instead they will be forced to bury their mother,” Jade added.
Mrs Douglas had given birth to her fourth child just a month before she died in the home she shared with her alleged killer.
The couple had four children aged 12, 11, one and the four week old girl.
Mum of four Mrs Douglas is remembered as a ‘courageous and beautiful person who was known to help where help was needed’
Forensic investigators arrived at the home that was still a crime scene on Wednesday
A neighbor described the incident as “all just very shocking.”
“It’s not what you would expect,” the resident told Daily Mail Australia. “Drew was a nice lady.”
A critical incidents team has been set up to investigate why there was a 10-hour delay in attending the home following King’s ‘well-being concern’ call.
“The circumstances of why there was no turnout and the timeline from last night to this morning are part of the critical incident investigation,” NSW Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
She added: “There is definitely a history of police involvement with both of these two people.”
However, Assistant Commissioner McCusker said in the original phone call that he was “not aware of any threat of violence.”
A neighbor described the incident as “all just very shocking.”
“It’s not what you would expect,” the resident told Daily Mail Australia.
A mother of four has died after allegedly stabbing at a home in western Sydney
Neighbor Ross Windley, 61, who has lived on the street for 60 years, said the incident was “absolutely devastating – just awful.”
“This morning around a quarter to seven I was awakened by a couple of ambos running down the street, followed by a couple of police cars,” he said.
“It was a hive of police activity. They cordoned off the whole street and then a female detective came and asked if I had any cameras, which I didn’t.’
Mr Windley told Daily Mail Australia he initially saw police driving to another address ‘on the other side of the street where the police frequent’.
Shocked neighbors describe the woman as the “nicest person ever.” The photo shows the police standing outside the home on Edmondson Avenue
“I think that’s what happened this morning, they instinctively went down when they first rocked up because they’ve been there so many times, but then they just screamed right back up,” he said.
Mr. Windley said he did not know the couple but had seen their children playing in the street.
He said he thought the young family lived with an older couple.
When Mrs Douglas’s body was taken away for an autopsy, police officers interviewed neighbors (pictured)
It is clear that there were other adults in the house at the time, Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The house on Edmondson Avenue remained a crime scene Wednesday night as homicide detectives launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms. Douglas’ death.
Her body was removed from the building just before 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
Forensic officers were seen photographing the house and scouring the crime scene for possible evidence.
King was represented in Campbelltown District Court on Thursday by his lawyer Kamal Hamka.
Mr Hamka asked the court to postpone the case for eight weeks to give the prosecution time to present evidence.
The magistrate agreed to the request and ordered Mr King to appear before Penrith Court on 18 October.
He has not applied for bail, so he will remain in pre-trial detention for another two months.