Crowdfunding for pregnant woman killed in vicious attack
Heartbroken family of Brazilian woman 'murdered with tomahawk' launch bid to raise money to fly her body home... and kind strangers have already donated $10,000
- Fabiana Palhares, 35, was killed with a tomahawk on the Gold Coast
- She was 10 weeks pregnant and was found in her home on Monday
- Her partner, Brock Wall, has been charged with her murder and a second murder charge for the unborn child
The Brazilian family of a pregnant woman allegedly murdered with a tomahawk by her partner is trying to raise money to fly to Australia to deal with the tragedy.
Brock Wall, 34, is accused of bludgeoning to death his partner Fabiana Palhares, 35, who was 10 weeks pregnant, in Varsity Lakes on Queensland's Gold Coast on Monday.
Ms Palhares' family members - who reside in Brazil - are trying to raise $50,000 via website My Cause and with the help of domestic violence charity White Ribbon. So far they have raised $10,205.
'Fabiana had the biggest heart you could even imagine, and she would be the first to put her hand up to help someone,' the fundraising page reads.
'Fabiana's family need help to be able to come over to Australia and to pay for the expenses this tragedy has left.'
Ms Palhares' friend Lu Flores said her family is 'pretty lost' and her mother in 'shock'. Ms Flores said she was not sure if Ms Palhares' father knew yet, because he was recovering from heart surgery.
The family is considering taking her body back to Brazil to be cremated or buried there.
'Bringing the body is expensive, but if they decide to bury her in Australia then the family would go to Australia, either both ideas are expensive,' Ms Flores told Daily Mail Australia.
If they raise enough money Ms Palhares' brother and another family member would fly to Australia to organise her affairs.
Ms Palhares had lived in Australia for 11 years, ran her own cleaning business and owned a dog.
'This money its not just to pay for tickets flight... Fabiana had her whole life here, a car that probably was still being paid, she got a business with lots of contracts,' Ms Flores said.
'Also $1 [Australian] dollar means about $2.70 [Brazilian real].
'I reckon the biggest expense will be to bring her body or her ashes in case of cremation.
'If the family decides to bring her personal stuffs a ship container can cost nearly $10,000.'
Ms Plahares uncle Leo Palhares spoke to Daily Mail Australia from Brazil on behalf of her family.
'We can not believe our darling girl is gone, leaving such a void in our hearts,' said Mr Palhares.
'Our Fabiana was such a special person, a person of great light.'
'It is almost impossible to speak about it.'
'She was dearly loved by us and will be so greatly missed.'
'We feel nostalgic thinking about her infectious smile, she gave us so much joy.'
Police have charged her partner Wall with her murder, the murder of an unborn child and unlawful assault of a pregnant woman.
The case was mentioned at Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday but Wall did not appear and no bail application was made.
A committal hearing for Wall's case will be heard in May.
She was found in her home in Randwick Court, Varsity Lakes on Monday afternoon after the domestic incident.
It is believed that the police had been called to the house three weeks ago and according to a neighbour the couple had a history of domestic disputes.
Wall was located in a car reportedly covered in blood, around the corner from the house and has been charged with murder.
He was put in a forensic evidence suit before being taken from the scene by police.
'He drove down and around the corner and police intercepted him in a vehicle, a small white sedan,' Detective Inspector Hogan said.
Paramedics performed CPR on the woman, who had serious head injuries, before taking her to Gold Coast University Hospital about 2pm yesterday.
Police confirmed she died in hospital on Monday evening.
Detective Inspector Marc Hogan told reporters at the scene he understood the woman was 'in a bad way'.
He said neighbours had overheard a man and a woman arguing.
Another neighbour told the publication that she was a 'beautiful' person who had recently moved to the area.
She was such a small Brazilian lady and I had never seen them argue so it is a massive shock.'
Speaking to 7News, neighbour Chris Cunha said the whole community was in shock.
'I feel devastated because I don't know what happened,' she said.
'I'm really worried now.'