The father of the 23-year-old man who killed a two-year-old girl has spoken out about the incident, saying that his family is heartbroken.
Joude Khazma spoke to Sydney Morning Herald, saying that he couldn’t understand how anyone could possibly think of harming a child.
“If my son has done this, he should face the full force of the law,” Mr Khazma said. “We don’t condone this behaviour at all in the Khazma family or in our religion. This is not his upbringing, we are a humble family, we are not trouble-makers.”
Mr Khazma feared that his son had changed due to the influence of drugs, and that his family was heartbroken for the loss of the ‘sweet, friendly’ girl who died.
“Our heart bleeds for her family,” he said. “If there’s anything we can do to soften their grief and turmoil then we will do anything for them.”
RELATED: 2-Year-Old Girl Dies From ‘Vicious Assault’
Neighbours were horrified to discover a mother driving to a Western Sydney home with her two-year-old daughter in the backseat of her car, screaming “Your son has beaten me, he has killed my daughter.”
Sunrise reports the mother passed out on the front lawn soon after her screams, and her daughter went into cardiac arrest. She was unable to be revived and died in Westmead Children’s Hospital overnight.
The two-year-old girl had been assaulted by 23-year-old Mohammed Khazma, who police believe is her mother’s partner.
The man was charged with reckless wounding causing grievous bodily harm and is currently being held at the police station over night for questioning. The charge is now expected to be upgraded to murder.
The Daily Telegraph spoke to the neighbours at the scene, who were shocked when the mother turned up at the house.
“She (the mother) said, ‘Your son hit me, your son has killed my daughter’,” the neighbour said.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought it was a big fire and that fire engines were going to show up but suddenly the street was full of cops.”
Police say that the child suffered a ‘vicious assault’, and they will allege that he repeatedly beat the child at the home, until the girl’s mother could intervene and drove her away in the car.
