Incident that occurred in Australia where 8 children were found dead at a property as the result of stab wounds.
One of Australia's worst mass killings of children, resulting in eight deaths and a landmark insanity ruling.
Key Facts
- Children killed
- 8
- Age range of victims
- 18 months to 14 years
- Location
- Manoora suburb, Cairns, Australia
- Perpetrator
- Raina Thaiday, mother/aunt of victims
- Legal outcome
- Unfit to stand trial; indefinite psychiatric detention
- Diagnosis
- Schizophrenia (determined 2017)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Raina Thaiday, the mother of seven of the children and aunt of the eighth, carried out the stabbings at the family home in Manoora, Cairns. She was later diagnosed with schizophrenia, which formed the basis of her legal defence of insanity.
On 19 December 2014, eight children aged between 18 months and 14 years were found stabbed to death at a residential property in Manoora, Cairns. The bodies were discovered by the children's 20-year-old brother. Raina Thaiday was charged with eight counts of murder.
In 2017, Thaiday was found unfit to stand trial by reason of insanity following her schizophrenia diagnosis and was detained indefinitely at a psychiatric facility. The case prompted public discussion in Australia about mental health, child welfare, and the legal standards for criminal responsibility.