Mum, 39, found dead at home on Halloween after child ‘ran screaming for help’ as cops make arrest
POLICE are investigating the death of a woman found in a “quite horrific” scene inside a home in Kearsley, New South Wales.
Emergency services were called to the property near Cessnock, on Friday evening following reports of a domestic violence situation.
There, they discovered Rhukaya Lake dead from what appeared to be a gunshot wound.
At the time of the tragedy, three children were present in the home.
Superintendent Steve Laksa described the scene as traumatic for all involved, especially the children who were caught up in the horror.
“It was a traumatic incident, as you’d imagine, quite horrific for family members, all involved – her three young children, or two adult children, one young child,” Laksa said.
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One of the children, in a desperate attempt to escape the violence, fled the house and ran for help.
She made her way approximately 300 to 400 meters to a neighbour’s home.
The child was reportedly screaming hysterically for assistance.
One witness, Cecil Campbell, described the scene as “bloody shocking.”
“This has never happened before,” Campbell added.
It was the neighbours who then called the police after learning about what happened from the child.
The child told officers that her mother had blood “dripping from her head.”
The police quickly identified 37-year-old Christopher James McLoughney as a person of interest.
He has reportedly been in a relationship with the deceased since June.
Police issued a warning that McLoughney was believed to be in the Cessnock, Lower Hunter, or Newcastle areas.
Believing he could be armed, authorities urged the community to be cautious and alert them if they saw him.
McLoughney was then arrested in Bellbird, a small town about nine kilometers from the scene of the crime.
He was driving a black Hyundai Tucson when the police stopped him.
He allegedly had a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition in his possession.
These items have since been taken for forensic analysis.
This incident marks the latest in a series of violent attacks across New South Wales.
Earlier this month, a man was brutally killed in a chainsaw attack in Bega.
It is thought that this incident could have been a drug-related confrontation.
Back in 2022, Emma Lovell, originally from Ipswich, was stabbed to death on Boxing day as she fought off two home invaders in North Lakes, Queensland.
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The 41-year-old from a stab wound that pierced her heart.
The ongoing violence has shocked local communities and highlighted the growing concern over domestic and public safety in the region.
