A father reportedly stabbed his severely disabled wheelchair-bound son to death before turning the knife on himself in an apparent murder-suicide in West Lakes, Adelaide's western suburbs on Saturday, Aug. 28.
On Saturday, Aug. 28 afternoon, Neville Leworthy, 72, allegedly killed his 46-year-old son Wayne with a knife before taking his own life. Police and paramedics rushed to the scene after they were alerted by Leworthy's wife and Wayne's mother Raisa who found them both lying unresponsive in the garage of their home in Adelaide, the Daily Mail reported.
Paramedics attempted to resuscitate the father and son to no avail. The two succumbed to their fatal wounds and died at the scene.
The investigators are treating the incident as a murder-suicide, according to police detective inspector Mark Atkinson.
"It's a very tragic set of circumstances down here and a very emotional set of circumstances," Atkinson said.
Inspector Atkinson added that the police are not looking for any other suspects in connection with the killings and that they have seized weapons from the scene as part of the investigation.
However, law enforcement has asked the neighbors and the public to avoid the area despite there being no ongoing danger to the public, the Advertiser reported.
Major Crime Investigation Branch detectives and forensic crime scene investigators have reportedly visited the crime scene to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident. The house has been cordoned off and the adjacent street was closed until Saturday evening.
Residents in the neighborhood mourned the tragic death of the younger Leworthy. They added that the Leworthy patriarch was an avid motorcyclist and that there were rumors swirling that he had been recently diagnosed with cancer.
Angela Grimaldi, who lives in the neighborhood, said that the Leworthys “kept to themselves.” She said that she occasionally saw the father outside having a smoke. She also added that she often used to see his son in his wheelchair, getting picked up from the home from time to time.
“We could see the father didn’t seem happy and never looked happy so we didn’t push the ‘good mornings’ on him because he didn’t look like he was in a good place," she said.
Seventy-six-year-old Peter Rusby who lives two doors down from the crime scene said that he often talked to Leworthy about motorbikes and the weather. He said that they even spoke the morning the crime took place, Perth Now reported.
“I found he was nice and that’s why I was so shocked when I heard what happened,” Rusby said.
“I could hardly believe it."
“I’m still feeling so terrible about it, especially when I saw him on Saturday morning, had a quick chat with him, and it just makes me feel so terrible,” he continued.
Police officials are reportedly investigating the incident and are preparing a report for the coroner.
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