Boy, three, stabbed to death in Riverwood, south-west Sydney as tragic new details emerge

The mother of a three-year-old boy allegedly stabbed to death by his father had passed away just years before the tragic incident unfolded. 

Police and paramedics found the toddler’s body inside a unit in Riverwood alongside his father, 45, who had suffered serious injuries on Wednesday. 

Emergency services were called to the property in south-west Sydney at 4pm after receiving a call from a female relative of the father. 

It is understood police believe the 45-year-old man allegedly stabbed his son before turning the knife on himself.

Doctors at St George Hospital performed emergency surgery on the man and he is now in a stable condition under police guard. 

According to police, the little boy’s mother passed away a couple of years ago with the three-year-old believed to have been living with his father. 

Emergency services were called to the property in south-west Sydney at 4pm after receiving a call from a female relative of the father

Superintendent Sheridan Waldau (pictured) said it was a very ‘traumatic’ job for police to attend and the officers involved were being offered help

Detectives will investigate the ‘traumatic’ incident as possible domestic violence. 

The man’s partner, who wasn’t at the scene, is speaking with police. 

‘This is obviously a horrific incident… any kind of incident involving a small child is always a tragic incident and our condolences go out to the extended family of the child,’ said Superintendent Sheridan Waldau said. 

‘Unfortunately, police attend domestic violence incidents all the time, we attend 140,000 incidents every year and unfortunately some of them end up in homicides.

‘It’s one of the jobs that we as police always hate going to.’

Commander Waldau said it was a very ‘traumatic’ job for police to attend and the officers involved were being offered help.

She added that police had yet to speak to the man in depth as he recovers from his surgery and have only had ‘very limited interactions with him’.  

Some of the boy’s family members arrived at the scene and were ‘very upset’ by the incident. Some of them were so distressed that they reportedly had to be treated by paramedics.

It is understood police believe the 45-year-old man allegedly stabbed his son before turning the knife on himself (pictured, paramedics at the scene)

NSW Ambulance paramedics treated a 45-year-old man at the scene. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition (pictured)

Images from the scene show dozens of uniformed and plain-clothes officers and paramedics entering the unit as shocked onlookers stood on the pavement

Several police cars and ambulances remained parked outside the Liverpool apartment block

Images from the scene show dozens of uniformed and plain-clothes officers and paramedics entering the unit as shocked onlookers stood on the pavement. 

A crime scene has been established and officers from the homicide unit are investigating.

Footage from the street outside the apartment showed a fleet of police cars and ambulances rushing to the scene, as horrified onlookers stood behind a police cordon while a helicopter circled overhead.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.