MELBOURNE, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Australian police have charged two men with murder over the deaths of two mothers in separate alleged domestic violence incidents that occurred on the same day.
Lavanya Chappa, a 39-year-old mother of two, was fatally stabbed at a property in Melbourne's eastern suburbs on July 7 and a 39-year-old man, who has since been identified as her husband, was subsequently charged with her murder.
An online fundraiser set up by Chappa's family said that her death has left her children, aged 7 and 13, with an "unimaginable future without their mother's comforting presence, guidance, unconditional love."
Police in the state of Victoria said that two children were inside the house at the time of Chappa's death, but were not physically injured.
Her husband, Srinivas Achanta, was arrested at the scene and taken to the hospital under police guard before making an initial court appearance on July 10, where he was remanded into custody to return to court in November.
In the northeastern state of Queensland, 48-year-old Dharminder Singh on Monday made an initial court appearance after being charged with the murder of 30-year-old Jana Armstrong, his ex-partner and the mother of his four-month-old son.
Armstrong's body was located in bushland by hunters on Saturday night, ending a four-day search for the woman who had been missing from the city of Toowoomba since July 7.
The court heard on Monday that police allege Singh murdered Armstrong on July 7 and dumped her body.
Speaking outside the court on Monday, Armstrong's sister Faith Isaacs called for more government action to prevent domestic violence.
Amanda Dalton from Toowoomba-based domestic violence support service Protea Place told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that domestic violence would not be "adequately tackled" by one measure.
"The education and the early intervention need to walk hand in hand with the response, with the recovery," she said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in 2024 declared violence against women as a "national crisis" after tens of thousands of people joined nationwide rallies demanding an end to gender-based violence amid a wave of incidents.
Following his declaration, Albanese in September 2024 announced 4.7 billion Australian dollars (about 3.3 billion U.S. dollars) in funding from federal, state and territory governments for a five-year plan to address gender-based violence. ■