Two young boys might have been murdered hours before officers were called to their semi-rural home and found their bodies in separate bedrooms, police allege.
Details of the boys’ deaths, which have shocked the small community of Coonabarabran in northwest NSW, were revealed as their grandmother and accused killer appeared in court for the first time.
Kathleen Heggs, 66, will be held in custody for at least another 10 days after making no application for bail during a brief appearance at Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday.
She was charged the previous day after spending several days in hospital since the bodies of brothers Max and Sam, aged seven and six, were found in separate bedrooms inside their home just after 2pm on Monday.
Two junior police officers went to the property, which is located about 10km from the centre of the farming town, after a message sent to the communities and justice department triggered an emergency response.
They broke into the home to find the boys’ bodies, while their maternal grandmother was nearby after allegedly trying to harm herself.
Heggs allegedly killed the boys as early as 10.30am that day, court documents said.
She appeared briefly on a video link during the initial appearance, when she said she understood the charges she was facing.
She was formally refused bail to appear in Dubbo Local Court on May 21.
On Friday night, hundreds of community members gathered for a vigil at Neilson Park, beside the Castlereagh River, to grieve the loss of the young lives.
Warrumbungle Shire councillor Kodi Brady, who helped organise the event, honoured the boys’ memory with a poem for “two Coonabarabran stars”.
He described the pair as “little pocket rockets, bold and free”.
“It was just an opportunity for the community to come together and grieve. It was a real safe spot,” he said.
Emergency services personnel, local sports club representatives, community leaders and friends all attended the vigil, which included a smoking ceremony and shared meals.
“Everyone from little kids and classmates to people that didn’t know them have been really affected,” Cr Brady said.
“They felt they needed to be there, (they) were struggling.”
The weather was calm and the mood peaceful as balloons were released with the backdrop of sunset.
“It was a (moment) for deep reflection watching them float away. Everyone just focused on that sunset,” Cr Brady said.
“It was very important in our grief process to be able to honour their lives as a collective of people.”
A tree was planted for each boy, while there was also a ceremonial presentation of their yellow belts — which the young karate students were due to receive this week
The karate class also performed a traditional routine.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org