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Police have charged the mother who allegedly attempted to drown her two sons in the Murray River on March 2. The 27-year-old now faces a charge of murder for the death of her five-year-old son, on top of an earlier charge of attempted murder in relation to her nine-year-old son. The older son was reportedly able to wriggle free and is currently recovering in Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital—having suffered bites from a dog who mauled him during the alleged drowning attempt.According to the allegations, the Deniliquin woman took her two sons to an area of the Murray just outside Moama on Thursday afternoon to go fishing. According to the ABC, the woman "allegedly asked the elder boy to get into the river and dunk his head in the water, the court heard. It is alleged she then held him under the water in an attempt to drown him."When she was unable to drown her older son, it is alleged the mother turned her attention to the five-year-old, who was standing on the riverbank screaming. Onlookers who came to help the older son told the court they heard to woman say, "I had to drown my babies." Initially, the younger son's body could not be located. However, a search party discovered him in the river on Saturday—nearby where the alleged attack occurred.The boys' grandmother had apparently attempted to alert police, the Department of Family and Community Services, and the Department of Corrective Services to the mother's mental condition on a number of occasions. However, her lawyer told the ABC they'd "fobbed her off." The boys' father also made headlines after he set up a GoFundMe page to try and crowdfund a trip to see his older son, and bury his younger son. There was intense backlash after it was discovered the father had never met his five-year-old son, and had not seen the older son in six years.The mother was refused bail in Deniliquin Local Court today, her next appearance will be on May 2.More information as this story develops.
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