Tania Murphy: Families at war after mother and three children died in horrific car crash
NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA: A family feud has erupted after a man was arrested following the deaths of a mother and three children, who died in a shocking car crash. Mum-of-six Tania Murphy, 36, and three children—her sons Nathaniel, 11, Jeremiah, 10, and the boy's 12-year-old cousin, Malakai Murphy—were traveling along a remote road, near Leeton in southern NSW, at 11.15 pm on Tuesday, March 4 when their Hyundai Getz struck a telegraph pole, rolled down an embankment, and landed upside-down.
All four passengers were pronounced dead by the time paramedics arrived at the scene. The NSW Police launched an investigation into the matter and arrested Murphy's boyfriend, Dean Ingram, 32, and his mother Wendy Chattaway, 50, on Wednesday, March 5. Chattaway was later freed without being charged, but Ingram is accused of kicking in the back door of Murphy's home moments before the tragedy. He was charged with two counts of stalking with intent to cause harm as well as one count of aggravated break and enter, according to Daily Mail.
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How did the family feud begin?
Following the arrest, Murphy and Ingram’s families started attacking each other with a slew of divisive social media posts. Before the charges were announced on Wednesday, Ingram's aunt, Leonie Kawelmacher, posted a note of encouragement for her sister Chattaway online that read, "Love U Wendy woo we got this I f***ing hope." She soon deleted the post, but Leki Jeann, a relative of the dead mother, noticed the post and criticized her. Tagging Kawelmacher, Jeann posted a screenshot of the since-deleted post and asked, "Why delete [SIC] ya post Leonie? What, [you] thought nobody seen it so ya quickly try an delete it?"
Jeanne then slammed Kawelmacher for supporting Ingram, who allegedly stalked and intimidated Ms Murphy before she died. In response, Kawelmacher withdrew her support and claimed she was unaware that her sister was being questioned by police over the collision. "I never knew what happened and once I knew what went down I f***ed right off away from the c***s,' she wrote in the comments." She wrote in the comment section. "I'll attack the c***s [SIC] meself if they come near me."
'She has been the best mum'
On Thursday morning, Ms Kawelmacher posted on Facebook to inform her friends that she had ended her relationship with Chattaway and Ingram. "Just to clear things up I had no idea of the actual events that went down I was there to support a friend ... and I was not aware and once I realized what had happened I cut all ties," she wrote. Ingram is yet not released and police have cordoned off Murphy’s residence, which is owned by the Leeton and District Aboriginal Corporation.
Ms Murphy's closest friend, Julieanne Abraham, said she had to do the tough job of telling the dead woman's nine-year-old daughter that her mother was dead. "She has been the best mum, best friend, and best lady I have ever met," Ms Abraham said, according to Daily Mail. "I only spoke to her yesterday and I had to tell her daughter that she wasn't coming home. She was awesome, we had lots of fun when we spent time together – the children used to call me nanny – we were all one big family."