A man has been charged with the murder of a 32-year-old woman, whose body was found in a home in a small Western Australia town.
Late on Saturday night, police responded to calls of a disturbance at a home in Fitzroy Crossing, about 400 kilometres east of Broome, WA.
When police arrived at 11:05pm, they found the 32-year-old woman unresponsive. Paramedics provided emergency treatment, but the woman died at the scene.
Police then arrested 35-year-old Samuel Jade Lincoln Jingle and subsequently charged him on Monday with one count of murder, in relation to the killing of the woman. Authorities say Jingle and then woman were known to one another.
The man appeared before the Broome Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning via video link, and when asked if he understood the charge against him, his response was, “Yeah”.
He will remain in custody before his next hearing at the Stirling Gardens Magistrate’s Court on January 22.
According to Sherele Moody’s Femicide Watch, the 32-year-old woman is the 98th woman killed by violence in 2024 in Australia.
She is also the 20th Indigenous woman killed this year, Moody says, meaning more than 20 per cent of women killed in 2024 are First Nations.
Indigenous women are disproportionately affected by violence. In fact, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander women are eight times more likely to be killed by an intimate partner than their non-Indigenous counterparts, according to statistics collated by Our Watch.
The most dangerous time for women and children
Frontline workers say Christmas, New Years and the summer school holiday period is the busiest time of year for crisis accommodation services.
Women and children experiencing violence face the impossible choice of fleeing a violent situation – often with no option other than homelessness – or remaining with their perpetrator and risking their lives.
The leading cause of increasing rates of homelessness amongst women – the fastest growing cohort of people experiencing homelessness – is domestic and family violence, according to Homelessness Australia
In fact, 45 per cent of all women and girls seeking homelessness assistance had cited family and domestic violence as the cause.
Homelessness Australia said services that provide support for people experiencing homelessness turn away almost 295 people every single day. This means in 2022-2023, there were about 108,000 requests for support that went unassisted.
Of those people being turned away every day, 80 per cent are women and children.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.
Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.