A 13-year-old boy is charged over harrowing home invasion that ended with a Wallabies star fighting for life and his wife and kids badly wounded - as his daughter speaks out
- Wallabies legend Toutai Kefu 'recovering well' after rushed to hospital critical
- He, his wife and two of their kids injured in alleged home invasion on Monday
- Daughter Olivia provided an update on her family on Facebook on Tuesday
- Two teens aged 13 and 15 charged and behind bars, another now in custody
A second teen has been charged over an alleged home invasion which left Australian Wallabies legend Toutai Kefu fighting for life.
The rugby union legend, 47, wife Rachel, 46, and two of their children remain in hospital after a gang of teens allegedly attacked them with an axe, a machete and a knife in their Brisbane home in the early hours of Monday morning.
One of Kefu's daughters has broken the family's silence over the incident to say her father is 'recovering well' after he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition with abdominal wounds.
As a 13-year-old boy became the second teen to be charged, Olivia Kefu provided an update on her dad, brother Josh, 21, her mum and sister Madi, 18, who were also injured in the horrifying attack.
Toutai Kefu (left), daughter Madi (second left), wife Rachel (second right) and son Joshua (right) were also injured in a terrifying home invasion
'Both Josh and Dad had their surgeries yesterday and are recovering well,' she posted on Facebook on Tuesday.
'Madi and Mum will have their operations this morning. None of them have their phones on them. Thank you to everyone for all the kind messages and support, it means the absolute world to us all.'
On Tuesday, police charged a 13-year-old boy over an earlier alleged burglary and theft of a car at a Forest Lake home.
Police will allege the car was was then used in the raid on the Kefu home at Coorparoo 45 minutes later.
The allegedly stolen silver Hyundai SUV is yet to be found.
The 13-year-old was also charged over the burglary and wounding at the Kefu home.
He appeared in Brisbane Children's Court where he was refused bail to reappear on August 20.
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Another daughter Oliva says her dad Toutai Kefu (pictured) is recovering well after he was rushed to hospital in a critical coindition
A 15-year-old boy was also charged over the Kefu attack on Monday night.
He's accused of attempted murder, assault causing grievous bodily harm, break and enter and other offences.
Another 15-year-old boy remains in custody. He has not yet been charged.
Assistant Commissioner Brian Swan has appealed for help to find the allegedly silver Hyundai SUV with the registration 435 VJP.
'This was a really horrific incident,' he told reporters on Tuesday.
'Obviously our thoughts and prayers are with the Kefu family who I understand are still recovering in hospital.'
Police have said it didn't appear to be a targeted attack.
He defended the police response after Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers took aim at senior officers, claiming they'd left Coorparoo unprotected with 'no local police patrols at all' when the family was attacked.
Forensic officers spent much of Monday scouring the family home in the Brisbane suburb of Coorparoo for evidence. Two teens have been charged while another is in custody
Toutai Kefu and his wife Rachel are captured together in a family photograph. It is alleged Rachel had been attacked with a machete
He said the first officers arrived within six minutes of the call for help.
'Six minutes is actually better than what we average across that area for first response to urgent matters. It's actually a minute and a half quicker than what we would normally see.'
He said there were some issues with sick leave that night, but the police service was nimble and shared resources across policing areas to ensure demand was met.
'I'm comfortable that we had the resources required for that part of south Brisbane on Sunday.'
The incident has rocked the local community where the Kefu family lived with one resident describing describing him as a 'well respected gentle giant.'
'It's a really terrible attack in someone's home,' Mitchell Rowing told the Courier Mail.
He spent up to $4000 upgrading security at his home after it was broken into last year.
'I've seen more and more in the local community pages, seemingly every day, that there has been a car stolen or a house has been broken into,' Mr Rowing said.
Beloved Wallaby legend Toutai Kefu (pictured) snaps a selfie with his smiling young family - now allegedly victims of a violent home invasion
Kefu earned 60 caps for the Wallabies between 1997 and 2003 and was a key part of Australia's World Cup winning side in 1999.
The Tongan-born star memorably scored a last-minute try as Australia won the Bledisloe Cup against New Zealand in 2001.
He is the most-capped Wallaby No. 8 ever, having represented Australia at the position 58 times.
The 47-year-old has also served as the head coach of the Tongan national team since 2016.
The most-capped Wallaby number eight ever, he retired from international rugby in 2003 and took up a lucrative contract playing and then coaching in Japan. Returning to Brisbane in 2016, he is the current coach of the Tonga national team
