A teen accused of murdering a woman and two of her children in Western Australia has been sent to a psychiatric unit pending his next court appearance.
He is being held at the Franklin Centre Graylands Hospital.
Teen accused of triple murder sent to a psychiatric unit Photo: RNZ / YouTube
Reports from Perth said Teancum Peterson-Crofts talked over the magistrate during his court appearance referring to a person he said was a criminal who 'wanted to take him out into the bush'.
He said that person came back for his family and he ran away from him.
Mr Peterson-Crofts said he was painting a picture of Jesus and "mama" told him to save himself.
The names of the deceased have not yet been released, but neighbours say they had New Zealand connections.
Police called at 1.30am
Around 1.30am yesterday Mr Peterson-Crofts went to a convenience store in suburban Ellenbrooke and asked the staff to call the police.
From there officers went to a house in Brixton Crescent where they discovered the bodies of the 48-year-old woman and her 8-year-old son.
A 15-year-old girl was found fighting for her life in the backyard of the home, but she died on her way to hospital.
Police said Mr Peterson-Crofts had been living with the victims and it is understood he was related to them.
A Western Australia Police Assistant Commissioner, Paul Steel, offered his condolences to all those affected by the killings, saying the deaths were a terrible tragedy for the family involved, their extended family and for the first responders who attended the incident.
"It's a crime that I know will send shockwaves throughout the community of Western Australia and I can assure members of the community that WA police are applying all resources that we can to get to the bottom of what's happened here," he said.
Crime scene 'very complex'
Officers at the scene photographed a large pair of scissors lying in a roadside verge garden about 30 metres from the house before placing them in an evidence container.
Assistant Commissioner Steel said police who attended the killings described the scene as very complex.
"What I can tell you is that a senior homicide squad investigating officer said to me today that it is potentially the most horrific crime scene that he has ever been called to."
Fundraising page
Meanwhile, a Go Fund Me page started to help pay for the funerals of the dead woman and her children had raised almost $6000 of its $15,000 goal in just 17 hours.
The organiser said the dead woman's surviving children would not be able to afford one funeral or casket, let alone three.
She said the dead woman was her friend, "she was kind, happy, loved her kids, all of them unconditionally.
"At times in her life she was rough, she was flawed, but ... no one is perfect and [she] tried. She was always good to me, always supported me, always made me feel like a better person."
The names of the deceased are expected to be released by police tomorrow.
