This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/08/boy-dies-stabbed-adelaide

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Three-year-old boy dies, allegedly from stab wounds Three-year-old boy dies, allegedly from stab wounds
(about 5 hours later)
A three-year-old boy has died, allegedly from stab wounds, in the South Australian suburb of Athelstone after he and his father left their family home in Stepney on Tuesday morning. A man has been charged with murdering his three-year-old son after his wife rang police with concerns about their welfare.
Police Chief Inspector Seamus McDaid said the child’s mother called police about 8.25am saying she had concerns for the safety of the child. The 36-year-old man was charged late on Tuesday at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, before being taken into surgery for a self-inflicted neck wound, superintendent Graeme Adock said.
At 9am, police at an unrelated scene of a car crash on Gorge Road in Athelstone were approached by the man, stating he had injured his son. Police found the seriously injured child in the family car, a black Volkswagen Amarok. The mother rang police about 8.15am saying her husband had gone missing from their Stepney home with their son and she had concerns about their welfare.
The boy was taken to the Women's and Children's hospital but died. About 9am, a police patrol was attending an unrelated crash scene at Athelstone when a man in a black Volkswagen Amarok stopped and told police his son was injured.
His father was detained by police and taken to the Royal Adelaide hospital for treatment of a minor injury and a medical assessment. “The police officers went to the vehicle and found a small three-year-old child very badly injured,” Superintendent Adock said.
“Major crime will now investigate,” McDaid said. “The ambulances were already at the scene, so the child was immediately attended to by the paramedics.”
“It’s a tragic set of circumstances, a tragic incident, and our sympathies go out to the family.” He was taken to Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital, where he died.
He confirmed the family lived together at the home in Stepney and that it was too early to say why the boy’s mother had concerns for his safety. Police believe the boy received the fatal injuries in the family car.
Gorge Road was closed between Ryan Avenue and Coulls Road, and police urged motorists to avoid the area. The man, who had non-life threatening injuries to his neck, was taken to hospital.
Police have urged anyone who saw the Volkswagen in the area on Tuesday morning to come forward. Adock said it was too early to say whether mental health issues were involved in the tragedy.
A postmortem will be conducted on Wednesday.
“He had injuries consistent with being stabbed, but whether he was stabbed or not we do not know,” said Adock.
“As you can imagine, the mother of the child is very distressed.
“Police are providing her with all the support we can, so it is difficult to get the information we need from husband and wife for various reasons.”
He understood the family was not known to police and was not aware of any intervention orders.
“Everyone who is involved in this, the mother and very close relatives and friends, are extremely distraught.
“I just visited the police officers involved. They are very upset. The ambulance officers, they are very upset.”