Violence against women under national spotlight after four deaths in four days

Warning: This story contains details of alleged murders.

When Lavanya Chappa was allegedly murdered by her husband, her two children, aged 13 and seven, were in the house.

"The last thing the boy said [to his grandfather] was 'please come and take me'… in our language," family friend Sri Lakshmi Thukral said.

"[The family] are quite distraught."

Ms Chappa, 39, was found dead in her Melbourne home on July 7th, just before 10pm.

She has been remembered as a "strong, independent woman" who "loved her children".

"We wish she had a voice, that we can relay to you now, but unfortunately, no," Ms Thukral said.

Ms Chappa was stabbed and her husband has now been charged with murder.

Ms Thukral, a Sydney-based solicitor from the same south Indian community as Ms Chappa, has volunteered to work with her family as they grapple with their grief from across the globe.

Her beloved sister, Vijaya, rushed to Australia on Sunday night, flying more than 20 hours to Sydney, before driving to Melbourne to identify Ms Chappa's body.

"It was quite traumatic, Vijaya nearly collapsed [she was] inconsolable," Ms Thukral said.

Ms Chappa's parents, who do not speak English, have been unable to travel.

Ms Thukral is now trying to organise for her body to be returned to India and her children to access their aunt and carry out cultural protocols.

"We've been calling people, we've been calling, we've been making inquiries, but we didn't get anywhere, we didn't get any solid information at all," Ms Thukral said.

"In Hindu culture, especially in our southern side, the boy, the son, needs to do certain rites … and if he didn't do it, it's bad luck for him."

Four deaths in four days

On the day Lavanya Chappa was killed, another young mother disappeared in Queensland.

Jana Armstrong, 30, has been remembered by her sister as "the most caring, calm and loving person" and her former partner has been charged with her murder.

Her four-month-old son will now be raised by his aunt, Faith Isaacs.

In the same week, 13-year-old Victorian Layla Jeffery and a 17-year-old Yolŋu girl from the remote Northern Territory community of Galiwin'ku were allegedly killed by males known to them.

Four separate families, now united by the same unbearable grief.

Australia's national domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) commissioner, Micaela Cronin, is "devastated".

"These four deaths in four days have been absolutely heartbreaking, each and every single one of them are people who are dearly loved by their families and community," she said.

"It's heartbreaking that we're not able to do more to intervene and prevent them."

Counting Dead Women Australia, a register that tracks homicides of women, says 27 women have been killed so far in 2026.

"It's usually men's violence, in these situations. Not always, but usually," Ms Cronin said.

"One of the things that we really need to know more about is the pathway to perpetrating these kinds of crimes. We need to understand more about what the pathways are and pivot the whole system."

In New South Wales, a $184.1 million investment in specialist DFSV services over four years has been hailed as "positive", but advocates say it will not solve chronic long-term underfunding.

Queensland's 2026–27 budget revealed a $40 million cut from the state's DFV prevention program.

"We have had major inquiries … we have thousands, literally thousands of recommendations," Ms Cronin said.

"What we need to see is funding that is commensurate with the scale of the problem."

Ms Cronin said domestic, family and sexual violence was "everybody's business" to intervene.

"We need to have this national conversation, not just when horrific homicides happen,"

she said.

"Women, children and young people are living with DFSV every day and these children and families will go on and live with the consequences.

"We need there to be services there that are funded, that are able to intervene and provide support when it's needed."