Tributes have flooded in for an eight-year-old boy allegedly murdered by his mother in a quiet seaside town on Thursday afternoon.
Flowers, notes and a teddy bear were left in tribute to Brodie who was killed in his home on Alma Street at Tootgarook, south of Melbourne.
Joanne Finch, 41, is due to face the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday charged with one count of murder.
The woman, who is originally from the United Kingdom, rang Triple-0 asking for help about 1.30pm but when officers arrived at the house they found the boy dead.
A dazed Finch was refused bail at a closed out-of-sessions hearing on Thursday night where the court heard she needed to be given anti-depressants after the incident.
Tributes have flowed for Brodie (centre) the eight-year-old boy allegedly killed by his mother Joanne Finch (left) in their home south-east of Melbourne on Thursday afternoon
Ms Finch (left) allegedly rang Triple-0 asking for help, but when officers arrived at the house they found Brodie (right) dead
A mother has been charged with murder after her eight-year-old child was found dead at their rented home (pictured) on Alma Street in Tootgarook, 80kms south of Melbourne, about 1.30pm on Thursday
One note left at the front of their home read: ‘God bless little man RIP all the angels will be with you now.’
A neighbour told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday afternoon that the pair largely kept to themselves and had been living in the street about a year.
‘I believe it’s a rental property and I don’t think they’ve been there a very long time,’ she said.
‘I’d see her out the front every now and then and wave and say hello, it was just your normal neighbourly relationship – they were pretty quiet.’
Police are looking into if Brodie was suffocated as part of the investigation.
Prospective buyers were due to walk through the family’s home this Saturday at an open inspection.
The three-bedroom, seaside house was listed last month with a buyer’s guide of $550,000 to $600,000.
Police arrived shortly after and arrested the boy’s 41-year-old mother, who charged Thursday night
Meanwhile, locals have described the arrested mother as a friendly resident who would go out of her way to say hello to her neighbours.
Alma Street resident Tina Wallace said she was ‘horrified’ to learn of the child’s death, Herald Sun reported.
She added: ‘It’s absolutely tragic, I’ve got a ten-year-old son myself and it scared the hell out of me to hear what had happened.’
‘He was always a happy child,’ a separate neighbour told 9 News.
Prospective buyers were due to walk through the family’s home (pictured) this Saturday morning at an open inspection
The house has been described by real estate agents as an ‘ideal holiday getaway or an excellent investment’ property
Paramedics were initially called to the property on Alma Street, responding to reports that someone had been suffocated, 7 News reported
‘We’d wave hello as we were collecting the bins. They’d always say hello back.’
Nearby residents said no commotion was heard in the afternoon and they couldn’t recall any previous trouble at the home, which has children’s play equipment surrounding it.
Paramedics were initially called to the property, responding to reports that someone had been suffocated, 7 News reported.