Lead detective on Camp Hill murder-suicide steps down from investigation
Queensland's Police Commissioner has asked the detective leading the investigation into the murder-suicide in Camp Hill to step aside from the investigation.
It came after Detective Inspector Mark Thompson's comments at a media conference on Thursday attracted criticism from community members and were condemned as "victim-blaming at its worst" by a domestic violence awareness campaigner.
Inspector Mark Thompson addressing the media in Camp Hill only a few hours after the murder-suicide on Wednesday.Credit:AAP
"Our job as investigators is to keep a completely open mind," Inspector Thompson said on Thursday.
"We need to look at every piece of information and, to put it bluntly, there are probably people out there in the community that are deciding which side to take, so to speak, in this investigation.
"Is this an issue of a woman suffering significant domestic violence and her and her children perishing at the hands of the husband, or is this an instance of a husband being driven too far by issues that he’s suffered by certain circumstances into committing acts of this form?
"That's why I want people to come and speak to us, if we are going to build a complete picture as to what has occurred, then we need to need to speak to everyone."
Red Rose Foundation chief executive Betty Taylor said there was only one way to describe the comments: "victim-blaming at its worst".
"I do understand the job police have, they have a really difficult job with domestic violence, but we’re now talking about not investigating domestic violence – it’s actually murder-suicide,'' Ms Taylor said.
"Nothing the victim does should end her life tragically. Women have a right to walk away from a relationship of any description."
Commissioner Katarina Carroll publicly apologised for Inspector Thompson's comments during an on-air interview with ABC Radio Brisbane on Friday morning.
Later, she released a statement in which she repeated the apology on behalf of the Queensland Police Service.
"Our officers are committed to addressing the scourge of domestic and family violence, and particularly focused on supporting victims," she said.
"I have spoken to Detective Inspector Mark Thompson, who was very upset about the situation.
"To ensure public confidence, I have asked Detective Inspector Thompson to step aside from the investigation."
More to come.
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