The mother and baby’s bodies were moved from the house today for post mortems.
Operation Ettrick Head of Inquiry, Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Wakelin said we can confirm the mother, Wendy Mercer, aged 34 died as a result of several stab wounds and the baby, aged 6 months died from a knife wound.
The children, aged 3 and 5 are still recovering well in Dunedin hospital and are being cared for by relatives.
"The 32 year old male has been transferred to Middlemore Hospital for post surgery care after an operation to his legs. His condition is still described as life threatening.
We can confirm the speculation that the 32 year old male is the father of the children, including the deceased baby and a protection order was taken out. This order was taken out by Wendy Mercer against her former husband in August of last year.
Family members are deeply shocked and are being comforted by relatives and the Victim Support Network. Police staff are distressed at what has happened. It’s not something that takes place often, especially when victims are children. Many of us have families of our own and we feel for them," he said.
Ends
This is the last release for today.