A 44-year-old Victorian man has been charged with the murder of Bendigo mother Analyn “Logee” Osias, who was found dying at her home where her two primary school-age children were also located.
The 46-year-old woman died in hospital after emergency services found her unresponsive inside the home at Kangaroo Flat, in central Victoria, late on Sunday. Two uninjured children were also found inside the home.
On Tuesday night, Victoria police said homicide squad detectives charged a 44-year-old man from Junortoun, in Bendigo, with murder. He was remanded into custody and will face the Bendigo magistrates court on Thursday.
Police have said the man was known to Osias.
The Bendigo Filipino Foundation led a prayer vigil for mourners to pay tributes to Osias on Tuesday evening, where her friend Marie Hicks played Amazing Grace on the violin as community members lit candles.
Osias’s death comes three years after her former partner, Timothy Dorrough – the father of her two youngest children – was fatally hit by a car in 2020. At the time, police said it was understood that a verbal dispute over payment led to him leaving a taxi before he was hit by another vehicle.
“You were taken from us too soon,” Osias said in a social media post after Dorrough’s death.
“Your kids and I will miss you so much. We will always love you.”
On Tuesday the St Monica’s Catholic primary school, where the two children were students, said the community had been “deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic news”.
“We extend our prayerful sympathy and support to all of Logee’s family and friends,” its principal, Fiona Dearne, said.
“We will do everything we can to support [her children] and all who loved Logee during this difficult time.”
The school also said care packages had been provided to the children and that “members of the school community will be able to access counselling support as required”.
Victorian police said the 44-year-old man was arrested at about 5am on Monday at a reservoir in Harcourt North, near Bendigo.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 988 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
