Child protection services contacted before four-year-old’s alleged murder as police investigate cannibalism claim

Police charge woman with murder after boy's body was found in a Central Coast home on Saturday

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The New South Wales department in charge of child protection received a number of reports" about a four-year-old child before he was allegedly murdered by his mother, the minister revealed, as she announced a review into how the case was handled.

Kate Washington, the NSW minister for communities and family, announced the independent review into the child's case on Monday afternoon, two days after police found the preschooler's body at a home on the Central Coast.

This article was amended on 6 July 2026. An earlier version said the woman was 32 years old, as reported by police. Court documents show the woman is 31 years old.