8 children killed, mother stabbed, in Australia

SYDNEY — The bodies of eight children, aged 18 months to 15 years, and a wounded woman were discovered in a home in northern Australia on Friday, police said.

Police in Australia do not typically name suspects. Police did say they do not believe a killer is at large and that they were talking to the woman, who was found stabbed in the chest. She is believed to be the mother of seven of the dead children, police said.

The eighth dead child is also believed to be related to the 34-year-old wounded woman, Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said. The woman was receiving treatment for her injuries and was in stable condition at a hospital.

Queensland state police said they were called to the home in the Cairns suburb of Manoora on Friday morning after receiving a report of a woman with serious injuries. When police got to the house, they found the bodies of the children.

Asnicar declined to say how the children died.

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