The brother of 20-year-old Indigenous artist Gabriella Delaney, who was found dead in her Western Sydney home last night, has been formally charged with her murder.
Delaney’s body was found in her Cambridge Park home last night by police. Her parents, who are based in Western Australia, raised the alarm after reportedly not hearing from her in almost a week.
Delaney had not been seen since June 3rd, and investigators attending the scene reportedly found her body so badly decomposed that a cause of death was not immediately apparent.
30-year-old Lucas Delaney, Gabriella’s brother, was arrested this afternoon at Cumberland Hospital at Westmead. He had presented at the hospital’s psychiatric facility some days after June 3rd. A short time ago, police officials confirmed he had been charged with Gabriella’s murder. He is now set to front Parramatta Local Court tomorrow, having been refused bail.
Lucas is said to have also lived at the Cambridge Park house with Gabriella. It is believed that the alleged murder is a domestic violence-related incident.
Detectives attending the scene in Cambridge Park described it as “very confronting.” Nepean Area Police Command Detective Jason Pietruszka stated “The lady had not been seen since the third of June, so we are dealing with a situation where further examination is required to get an actual cause of death,” and that the family is “obviously extremely traumatised by the situation.”
Investigators remain on-the-scene as enquiries into the incident continue into tonight.
Anyone with information concerning the case is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
