The bodies of Ms Perinovic, 42, and her children — Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 — were discovered inside their home in what police sources have described as a “gruesome” scene. Her husband and the father of the children, Tomislav Perinovic, is assisting police with their inquiriesThe Herald Sun understands an “extremely distressed” Mr Perinovic was found sitting in the front yard of the Burgess St property by ambulance officers and gave an account of what happened inside the house.Victoria Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill confirmed the homicide squad was leading the probe but said assumptions should not be made about what occurred.“There’s been a tragic event in metropolitan Melbourne today. The loss of four lives, a mother and three children, is a tragic event,” Mr Hill said. “When it involves children it makes it more heart wrenching.”

Mr Hill confirmed police were not looking for anyone else and the husband who was taken into custody was considered a person of interest.He is yet to be formally interviewed.“We understand the children were all siblings. We understand the male was the husband of the deceased female and father of the three children. “At this point of time the male is assisting detectives from the homicide squad with their inquiries.“I must be very clear here and advise that at this point in time the investigation is at its very early stages. We know it involves a husband, a wife and three children. “The husband has survived. The wife and three children are deceased.” Mr Hill said there was no known history of family violence.

Emergency services were called to the Burgess St address around 12.30pm on Thursday where they discovered the bodies. Mr Perinovic remains a “person of interest” and is assisting police.It is understood he was seen “extremely distressed” out on the street when first responders attended the scene, after he had called triple-0. “He was extremely distressed,” one source told the Herald Sun. “He was standing on the street, looking distraught.” Acting Deputy Commissioner Robert Hill said it was a “tragic event” and the investigation is “in its very early stages”.Mr Hill said there were a number of possibilities of what happened, including the possibility of a murder-suicide.

“As to who is culpable for the death of the four people that is yet to be determined and we should not draw any conclusions at this point in time.“We should not assume culpability on the basis that we have a male assisting us with inquiries. We just need to understand the facts, and unfortunately they’re not known to us but will be in the fullness of time.”Mr Hill said he did not expect any charges to be laid on Thursday but could not rule that out as a possibility.
Tullamarine Map

He said there was no history of family violence associated with the family.He was unable to comment on whether the man was known to police, or whether police had been called to the house in the past.“We well and truly have got a long way to go before we can actually understand and appreciate what has occurred.”“Investigators do not believe there are other parties involved at this stage.”Mr Hill declined to comment on the nature of the injuries sustained by the deceased.Acting Assistant Commissioner Mark Galliott said police would be processing the scene into the evening.“The loss of any life is tragic however the loss of young lives in circumstances such as this is difficult to comprehend. This will have long-lasting effects on the police that attended, on extended family, the community, the neighbourhood, the emergency services and everybody else involved. They’ll be lifelong memories they’ll have to deal with.”

VICTIM’S COLLEAGUES PAY TRIBUTE TO “LOVELY” WOMANFormer colleagues of Katie Perinovic were devastated to learn the news of the mother-of-three’s shock death on Thursday. Staff at the Glenroy Physiotherapy clinic where Ms Perinovic, who also went by the name Ms Blazevic, worked for several years said she was a “lovely, lovely woman”. The Herald Sun understands Ms Perinovic, a physiotherapist and Feldenkrais Practitioner, left the clinic unexpectedly about three months ago.The Herald Sun was told Ms Perinovic may have been suffering from depression.According to the clinic’s website, the Tullamarine mother had been working at the clinic for seven years after graduating from the University of Melbourne in 1999.“Her passion is to promote/ empower people to be active in their own health,” the website reads.The clinic is a 10 minute drive from the home where Thursday’s tragedy unfolded.

A SCENE OF CHAOS AND MISERYAt the scene in Tullamarine, neighbours described police and ambulance officers “flying’’ down Burgess St.Neighbour John Constantino said he spoke to Ms Perinovic just last night. “She was a really nice lady,” Mr Constantino said.“It is really sad. “The kids were always dressed nice. “She was polite. She was really friendly. “No one around here would say a bad thing about her.”He described her as a doting mother who was always taking her children for bike rides and ice cream.

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Mr Perinovic was taken away in an ambulance under police guard. Helicopter vision shows children’s toys in the backyard.Neighbour Marie Groves described the Perinovics as a “beautiful family”.“She was gorgeous. She was lovely. They were a beautiful family,” Ms Groves said.“She really loved her job, loved her babies, loved her family. She’s so protective of them. “I can’t believe it — those babies.”

Ms Groves said the woman was a physiotherapist and her husband was a mechanic. She revealed the couple had plans to rebuild their house. Ms Groves said last time she had seen the woman was before Christmas, and said she seemed “a bit quiet” but nothing seemed wrong.A neighbour spoken to by the Herald Sun, who lives next door to the crime scene, said he was shocked to learn four people were found dead.“It’s my next door neighbour,’’ he said. “I heard the police and I went to check on what was happening and they (police) told me to go home and stay inside.“I don’t know what happened. There’s three young kids there.“They have been very nice.“I saw the man (my neighbour) sitting in a chair. I’m in real shock.’’Another neighbour, Johnie, said he was frightened to see a heavy police presence saturate his street. “It’s a bit too much for a local neighbourhood like this,” he said. “The police chopper was over our house for an hour.”



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