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The heartbroken sister of a mother-of-four found stabbed to death 14 hours after a call for social assistance from her home went unanswered has accused police of letting her down.
Drew Douglas, 31, was found by police with stab wounds to the chest at her home in St Mary’s in western Sydney just before 7am on Wednesday.
The paramedics could not save her.
It later emerged that police received a rambling call ‘concerned for the welfare’ of a man – believed to be Ms Douglas’ partner Shaun King – at the Edmondson Avenue property at 8.40pm on Tuesday evening, but emergency services did not come to the house.
A critical incident has been launched by the police to investigate why no officers were dispatched.
Drew Douglas (pictured), 31, was found by police with stab wounds to her chest at her home in St Mary’s in western Sydney just before 7am on Wednesday
Ms Douglas’ sister Jade (pictured) accused authorities of letting her down after police failed to respond to a call for social assistance from her property 14 hours before she was found
King, 35, attended the Campbelltown police station at 7.30am on Wednesday, about 45 minutes after Ms Douglas was discovered following another triple 0 call from someone living at the home.
On Wednesday evening, King was charged with the murder of Ms Douglas. He was taken into custody and will next appear in court on October 18.
Now the victim’s sister, Jade Douglas, has accused authorities of failing the “mom of four beautiful little girls aged four weeks to 12 years”.
“In the hours leading up to his death, the justice system let him down when he failed to respond to a call for police,” Jade wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to cover funeral expenses.
Ms Douglas’ body was taken from the suburban home of St Mary’s in western Sydney to an emergency services vehicle, with a tarp (pictured) used to protect her remains
A crime scene investigator wearing a full suit is pictured taking a bag of evidence from the house
‘No evidence has yet been released regarding what this phone call involved, but it is believed that no police officer on duty that evening showed up at the house for a wellness check on Shaun, Drew or the children despite the history of domestic violence between the two.’
Jade said her family and friends were “broken by the loss of such a young, brave and beautiful person who was known to help where help was needed”.
“Their two oldest children are old enough to understand that their mother will never return and they are fully aware of the situation that has unfolded in their family home.
“And now these 4 young girls will grow up without a mom or dad to guide them through life’s toughest challenges, instead they are forced to bury their mom,” Jade added.
Ms Douglas had given birth to her fourth child just a month before her death in the house she shared with her suspected killer.
The couple had four children aged 12, 11, one and a four-week-old baby girl.
Mother-of-four Ms Douglas was remembered as a ‘brave and beautiful person who was known to help where help was needed’
Forensic officers arrived at the home which remained a crime scene on Wednesday
A neighbor described the incident as “just really shocking”.
“It’s not what you expect,” the resident told Daily Mail Australia. “Drew was a nice lady.”
A Critical Incident Team has been set up to investigate why there was a 10-hour delay in getting home after King’s call was ‘concerned about wellbeing’.
“The circumstances surrounding the no-show and timing from last night to this morning form part of the critical incident investigation,” NSW Deputy Commissioner Leanne McCusker said Wednesday afternoon.
She added: “There is definitely a history of police involvement with these two people.”
However, Assistant Commissioner McCusker said she was “not aware of any threat of violence” in the initial phone call.
A neighbor described the incident as “just really shocking”.
“It’s not what you expect,” the resident told Daily Mail Australia.
A mother-of-four died after being stabbed in a western Sydney home
Neighbor Ross Windley, 61, who has lived on the streets for 60 years, said the incident was “absolutely devastating – just horrific”.
“Around a quarter to seven this morning I was woken up by two ambos running down the street, followed by police cars,” he said.
“It was a hive of police activity. They cordoned off the whole street, then a detective came and asked me if I had CCTV, which I didn’t.
Mr Windley told Daily Mail Australia he first saw police going to another address ‘across the street which the police frequent a lot’.
Shocked neighbors described the woman as the ‘nicest person ever’. Pictured are police outside the house on Edmondson Avenue
“I think that’s what happened this morning, they instinctively went down there when they first tipped over because they’ve been there so many times, but then they immediately screamed” , did he declare.
Mr Windley said he did not know the couple but was used to seeing their children playing in the street.
He said he believed the young family was living with an older couple.
As Ms Douglas’ body was taken for post-mortem examination, officers questioned neighbors (pictured)
It is understood other adults were at the home at the time, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The Edmondson Avenue house remained a crime scene on Wednesday night as homicide detectives opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Ms Douglas’ death.
Her body was removed from the property just before 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Forensic officers were seen photographing the house and scouring the premises for any evidence.
King was represented in Campbelltown Local Court on Thursday by his attorney Kamal Hamka.
Mr. Hamka asked the court to adjourn the case for eight weeks to allow time for the prosecution to present a memorandum of evidence.
The magistrate granted the request and ordered Mr King to appear in Penrith Magistrate Court on October 18.
He has not requested bail, so he will remain in custody for another two months.
St Mary’s stabbing: Sister speaks out after mum-of-four Drew Douglas was killed in her own home