Teacher Kate Paterson, 38, and her baby daughter April were found deceased inside a property on Belivah Road in Brisbane on Thursday. The discovery has sent shockwaves through the Logan community, prompting residents to gather for a vigil to remember the two.
The circumstances surrounding their deaths remain under active police investigation. Police were led to the home after a man in his 30s, apparently already bleeding from a wound to his neck, ran from the house towards a supermarket before being struck by a black dual cab ute on Beaudesert Beenleigh Road at Bannockburn.
Both mother and daughter died from critical injuries from an edged weapon. The man was in a relationship with the woman and had been living at the Belivah home at the time of the tragedy. Queensland Police Detective Superintendent Chris Ahearn has indicated that investigators are examining the relationship dynamics and living arrangements at the property.
Paterson had just returned to work from maternity leave before the tragedy struck. Those who knew her spoke of a person embedded in her community. Local resident Riley Evans, who witnessed the emergency response, described the neighbourhood as typically peaceful. "I looked out the window and then I saw all the coppers and the ambos pull up and the fire brigade, and I thought it was just like a car crash or something," Evans told the Sydney Morning Herald.
The man injured in the incident has not yet been able to provide a statement to authorities. As of Thursday, he remains unconscious in the hospital and authorities are still yet to speak to him. Police have indicated they remain open as to the full circumstances of how the tragedy unfolded.
The vigil reflected the community's desire to acknowledge the loss while the investigation continues. For those in Belivah, what unfolded on that Thursday morning has shattered the ordinary rhythm of a quiet neighbourhood and raised difficult questions about events that unfolded within a family home.