Melbourne mother faces attempted murder charges after driving family car into creek

In Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, a woman in her 30s entered not-guilty pleas to charges ranging from attempted murder to reckless conduct endangering life after police allege she deliberately drove her family car into a creek with three children aboard. The alleged sequence began when she sent her husband to shop for a dining table, then claimed she would take the children for a short drive, during which she is said to have tried to push her son into the water.

Later, she supposedly accelerated the vehicle off a boat ramp, opened the door as it began to submerge, and forced her middle child into the water, keeping the eldest and youngest inside the car. Bystanders called emergency services, rescued the children, and the children later recounted the incident to police, describing fear of drowning. Investigators uncovered online searches about killing children and messages to her mother expressing hopelessness. A forensic psychiatrist noted lingering mental-health symptoms, and the woman is expected to apply for bail, with police opposing release due to perceived risk.