'No matter what, I am my mother's child': Daughter of woman charged with murdering eight children in Cairns house of horrors stands by her mother in emotional Facebook posts
- Surviving daughter of accused Cairns murderer says she misses her mother
- Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday is charged with the the deaths of eight children
- Her 23-year-old daughter Norena Warria took to Facebook to declare her love for her mother, explaining 'I will always be my mother's child'
- Eight children were found, reportedly stabbed and suffocated to death on December 19 in Manoora, a suburb in Cairn's west
- Thaiday is accused of killing seven of her nine children, as well as her niece
- The children's bodies were found by Thaiday's 20-year-old son Lewis Warria
- Ms Warria's Facebook shows that they were a close family, cherishing her mother and extremely fond of her younger siblings
The daughter of the Cairns woman charged with murdering eight children - including seven of her own - has paid tribute to her mother.
Norena Warria pledged that she will always love and miss her mother despite the ‘heartbreak’ the 24-year-old is feeling after her mother was charged in relation to the brutal stabbing of seven of her siblings and her cousin.
Ms Warria and her brother Lewis, 20, are the only surviving children of Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday, who is accused of killing seven of her own children and her niece.
Norena Warria, pictured centre, with her mother Raina Thaiday (right) and her stepfather Gavin Willie (left). Thaiday has been charged with the murder of eight children. Mr Willie is understood to be the father of the four youngest children killed
Norena Warria paid tribute to her mother on Christmas Day - a day she spent without her mother, seven of her siblings and her 14-year-old cousin
The 23-year-old pledged her love for her mother, despite accusations that Raina Thaiday murdered eight children in her home on December 19
Eight children were murdered in Thaiday’s home in Murray Street, Manoora on December 19. These children include three of Thaiday’s daughters, aged two, 11 and 12; four of her sons, aged five, six, eight and nine, and her 14-year-old niece
Despite the alleged crime, Ms Warria posted messages of love and support on Facebook.
‘I love my mum & 7 siblings so much. No matter what, I am my mother’s child,’ wrote Ms Warria on her Facebook page.
‘I miss her. “My Mummy”’, she added, accompanying her message with symbols of crying faces.
Ms Warria is the eldest child of Raina Thaiday and was born when her mother was 14-years-old. Ms Thaiday is named after both her maternal grandmother and her mother's sister.
The 23-year-old has a two-year-old son who was very close with the slain children.
Ms Warria's Facebook documents the close bond that her family had before the tragic deaths, sharing photos that show the closeness between Raina Thaiday and her eldest son, 20-year-old Lewis
Raine Mersane Ina Thaiday has been charged with eight counts of murder following the deaths of eight children. Here she is pictured with her newborn son in 2009
Her Facebook page documents the family's life before the tragedy, showing that they were very close, with images of loving moments between the children and their mother and recollections of sweet, funny stories of Ms Warria's younger siblings.
Ms Warria is open about her struggles to deal with the immediate ‘loss’ of her mother and her inability to comprehend the violence which took place.
The social media site shows that many of the family’s relatives and closest friends are also concerned for the wellbeing of Thaiday, despite the gruesome crime she is accused of committing.
‘My sister, thinking and praying for (Raina Thaiday) too,’ a friend wrote to Ms Warria.
‘We all (miss her). And hope she knows we all still love her no matter what,’ added another friend.
‘(Thaiday) was kind, loving and always had a smile on her face. She loved you all very much,’ wrote one of her school friends.
Ms Warria has written several times about her inability to sleep due to her distress and the pain of her grief.
Malili (standing left) and Daniel (standing right), along with (sitting, from left) Rayden, Petronella, Rodney and (far right) Azariah were allegedly killed by their mother. Norena Warria's son and the children's nephew (second from right) is not a victim
Ms Warria has been open about the guilt she feels that she couldn't have somehow prevented the murders of her seven youngest siblings and of her 14-year-old old cousin
‘I can’t sleep with this broken heart, it’s just too much for me’ and ‘I think too much,’ she explained on Facebook.
‘Wish somebody would just heal my heart just like that!’
The 23-year-old explains that the tragic and traumatic deaths, and the shocking news about her mother is all deeply troubling.
‘Everybody loose (sic) 1 sibling at a time. Why I have to loose 7 in one hit? Now I’m lost!!!’
The mother-of-one also expresses guilt at the situation: ‘Just feel like I’ve failed on my siblings big time… ‘I’m sorry my babies.’
Ms Warria and her brother Lewis were given the heart wrenching task of formally identifying the remains of their seven siblings at Cairns Base Hospital.
The family home on Murray Street in Manoor in Cairn's west was strictly guarded by police
Forensic police spent four days collecting evidence from the home where the eight children were killed
On that day, Ms Warria reached out to her friends.
‘Heading to hospital (CBH) gonna see my siblings,’ she wrote.
‘Lord have your way in me.’
Ms Warria’s mother, a 37-year-old mother-of-nine, was found outside her home by her son Lewis at around 11am, with reportedly self-inflicted stab wounds to her neck and abdomen.
It’s understood Thaiday’s eldest son Lewis found the eight children either stabbed or suffocated to death throughout the three-bedroom Housing Commissions home.
Ms Warria’s Facebook page reveals the close bond that she and her other siblings shared with their mother, before the tragic events of December 19.
She frequently tells stories about her little siblings and their funny interactions with her own two-year-old son.
Gavin Willie, understood to be the father of the youngest four children was carried to add flowers to the tribute, collapsing on the floor and beating the ground at the foot of the fig tree
Gavin Willie was carried to the tribute site by family members two days after the children's deaths, screaming and crying in anguish. He returned the next day with his stepchildren, Lewis and Norena Warria
Mersane Warria is pictured being taken away by paramedics from a Cairns home on December 19
Warria has been open about her grief on social media
Before the distressing murders, Ms Warria also frequently shared images of her mother, opening up about how excited she was feeling to see her family.
An image, posted in October, shows Ms Warria with her arms around her mother, who wears a fluoro pink dress and a beaming smile.
The 23-year-old is also hugging her stepfather, Gavin Willie, who is understood to be the father of the four youngest children massacred in the Manoora home in Cairns’ west.
Two days after the children were found, Mr Willie returned to the home, wailing and screaming his children’s names in distress.
The next day, Mr Willie returned with Norena and Lewis to pay their respects at the tree next to the home. They held onto each other and stared across the fence at 34 Murray Street, the house where the children were slain.
On the day Norena Warria and her surviving brother Lewis formally identified their seven siblings' remains at Cairns Base Hospital, she opened up on Facebook
Norena Warria is the eldest child of Raina Thaiday, born when her mother was 14-years-old
The fig tree is surrounded by hundreds upon hundreds of flowers, teddy bears and children’s artworks by grieving members of the community. Norena and Lewis left a teddy bear for their little siblings and their cousin.
In another image, Thaiday is pictured with 20-year-old Lewis, who is kissing his mother’s cheek. Thaiday is wearing flowers in her hair and has a beaming smile.
‘Can’t wait ta see miy mum & miy lil bradah!’ wrote Ms Warria with a love heart.
Norena and Lewis Warria are now preparing to bury their seven siblings and their cousin together early in the New Year.
Raina Thaiday has allegedly been transferred from Cairns Base Hospital, where she was being treated for her knife wounds, to a facility in Wacol, Brisbane, according to Nine News.
She has been charged with eight counts of murder, with her trial adjourned until January 30.
The results of an assessment of Thaiday’s mental state will be used to decide if the case will be heard in a mental health court.
The Australian city of Cairns has a population of 160,000 people and is in the far north of Queensland
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