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Police believe Vic mum killed children

Andi YuAAP
Mourners leave flowers outside the Melbourne home where a woman and three children were found dead.
Camera IconMourners leave flowers outside the Melbourne home where a woman and three children were found dead.

Police are preparing a report for the coroner after coming to the conclusion that a Victorian mother killed her three children before taking her own life.

The four were found dead in a northwest Melbourne home on Thursday afternoon and were soon identified by multiple media outlets as Katie Perinovic, 42, and her children Claire, seven, Anna, five and Matthew aged three.

Tomislav Perinovic, 48, believed to be the woman's husband and children's father, called emergency services to report the deaths at his Tullamarine home about 12.20pm on Thursday.

By Friday afternoon, police announced they had "formed the preliminary view that the 42-year-old woman is responsible for all four deaths".

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Police do not believe Mr Perinovic was involved and are not looking for anyone else in relation to the matter, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

After assisting police with their inquiries Mr Perinovic was released without charge.

"Victoria Police would like to thank everyone who assisted in this distressing and challenging investigation," the spokeswoman said.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Robert Hill said police would support the families of those involved over the coming weeks.

"I know there will be many people in the community struggling to understand and come to terms with this tragedy," he said.

"This has also been an incredibly difficult time for both the police and paramedics who responded and attended the scene yesterday.

"This has been an incredibly heart-wrenching experience for all concerned."

Grieving locals began leaving flowers outside the home on Friday morning, as crime-scene cleaners later filtered in and out of the property.

Neighbours of the family were shaken by the incident.

One of them, Marie Groves, told the ABC Ms Perinovic was a physiotherapist who had only recently returned to work after taking time off to care for Matthew.

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