Australian police response was 'too late' to stop father murdering his two children

The children had been murdered by the time police arrived at the scene.
The children had been murdered by the time police arrived at the scene. Photo credit: Facebook

Warning: This article contains details which may disturb some people.

Police in Perth took more than three hours to arrive at an address where two children were murdered by their dad after their Kiwi mother raised concerns with police, a court has been told. 

When authorities arrived at the scene, Jason Headland had already murdered their children - five-year-old Zaraiyah-Lily and three-year-old Andreas.

The inquest into the death of the two children began on Tuesday in Western Australia's Coroner's Court.

New Zealander Anatoria Takiwa, the children's mum, had contacted police to request their welfare be checked on in the hours before the murders, Counsel assisting the coroner Toby Bishop told the inquest, AAP reports.

The mother told police she'd received a "disturbing" phone call from Headland, from whom she'd just separated.

Headland told her: "Say goodbye to your kids. This is the last time you're going to speak to them," AAP reports.

He also threatened to hurt his estranged partner, and "break your heart into 50 million pieces".

"By the time police officers arrived at the family home a few hours later, the children were already deceased," Bishop said.

According to Bishop, police should have responded within 60 minutes.

Katie Cheeseman, a friend of Takiwa, was with her when she received the threatening call from Headland.

"I just knew we needed help," Cheeseman said.

Headland was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017.

The inquest will continue before Coroner Sarah Linton.

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Newshub/AAP