In May, two-year-old Rowan was killed by his father James Harrison, who also took his own life, in nearby Lismore. Harrison had been put under an interim apprehended domestic violence order in July last year after Rowan’s mother has made a complaint against him.
In Ballina in January, Lindy Lucena, 64, was allegedly murdered by her partner Robert Karl Huber after breaching an apprehended violence order.
“The community wants to know: does [Creighton] known to police, does he have prior domestic violence charges against him, and was he on bail,” Williamson said.
Williamson, who spoke with senior police officers during the early stages of the investigation on Saturday, said he understood that the call may have been logged as a lower-priority incident than it should have.
In the local government area of Richmond, which includes Casino, the increase in domestic violence assaults over the past decade is more than three times the state average rise - 5.2 per cent per year compared to 1.7 per cent respectively, data from the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows.
There was one alleged domestic violence murder in the local government area in the 12 months to March 2024, and two alleged domestic violence murders the 12 months prior, the data shows.
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NSW Member for Lismore Janelle Saffin said the community was reeling, and it was critical that critical incident investigation be done expeditiously, independently and reported publicly.
“Tomorrow coercive control behaviour is criminalised and this is welcome as domestic violence starts with this behaviour: bad name calling, put downs, monitoring phones and friends, dictating where to go, who to meet, what to wear and physical and mind control,” Saffin said.
“It is not okay to abuse/damage those you profess to love and our society has to do better and not accept this behaviour anywhere at anytime.”
For almost an hour police failed to acknowledge a triple zero call made shortly after 1.30am on Saturday after neighbours heard a woman screaming inside the Casino house.
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When police officers responded at 2.25am, it took them two minutes to arrive at the home where they found the woman, aged in her 40s, unconscious but still breathing.
Officers called an ambulance, but the woman’s condition deteriorated. She died at the scene.
Minister for Police Yasmin Catley said her thoughts were with the family and friends of the woman who tragically lost her life.
Catley said the critical incident investigation would be overseen by the independent Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and the NSW Coroner would also investigate.
“The NSW Police Force & NSW Government take domestic violence extremely seriously – it’s one of their top priorities,” Catley said.