Killer mum's chilling red flag before she murdered her daughter, 3, in her front yard: 'It was the same knife'

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 11:39, 7 June 2026 | Updated: 11:58, 7 June 2026 A mother who fatally stabbed her three-year-old daughter had used the same knife to pierce a family photo against a wall just one year prior. Sophia Rose, three, was attacked by her mother, Lauren Ingrid Flanigan, in the front yard of their home in Moore Park, near Bundaberg, on May 26, 2025. Her father, Jai Ruane, revealed the disturbing incident as he spoke out on Sunday to call for a review into mental health resources in Queensland. He had called police for help after Flanigan stabbed a knife through a family photo, leaving a hole in the wall. Officers attended the home and told Flanigan the incident was domestic violence and warned her not to do it again.  'Nearly a year later, she did do it again, but instead of sticking the knife in a wall, she put it into our daughter. And you know what? It was the same knife,' Mr Ruane told the Courier Mail. The father believes the stabbed photo was one of several red flags authorities failed to heed, costing little Sophia her life. Mr Ruane and Flanigan separated in the time between the photo incident and Sophia's death. Sophia Rose (above) was stabbed to death by her mother in the front yard of their home in Moore Park on May 26, 2025 Sophia's mother, Lauren Ingrid Flanigan (pictured together), had stabbed a family photo a year before attacking her daughter During that time, Mr Ruane recalled distressing signals that his daughter wasn't safe in Flanigan's care. The neglect had even caught the attention of the little girl's daycarers, who flagged her dirty nappies and rotten food with child care services. Child Safety Minister Amanda Camm was unable to comment on the case due to child privacy laws, but Mr Ruane claimed Flanigan was given leeway by authorities as they believed she was stressed while trying to adjust to life as a single mother. As the anniversary of his daughter's death passed and news of other children being killed by their parents reached Mr Ruane, that leeway felt like a pattern of neglect. Mr Ruane is calling for a review of Queensland's mental health services and a coronial inquest into the recent wave of filicides - parents murdering their children. There have been three high-profile cases of alleged filicide to hit Queensland in the months around Sophia's murder. As well as Sophia's death, anaesthetist Dr Tiffany Wilkes took her own life and that of her daughter, Clementine, in October. Wilkes had been taken in for involuntary mental health treatment in 2023. Sophie's father, Jia Ruane (pictured together), called for a review of Queensland's mental health services Ellouisa Gibson is accused of setting her house on fire on May 7, 2025, killing her three children -  aged nine, seven and four. The case remains before the court and mental health is being investigated as a factor. In Sophia's case, the photo stabbing was the first major sign something wasn't right with Flanigan. She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, medicated and was undergoing treatment. Flanigan was found unresponsive in her cell shortly after stabbing Sophia and died in hospital on June 1, 2025, at 32 years old. 'How many more children do they want to die before they do a review? How many more need to die before it's classified as an emergency or that something's not right? It's quite clear there's a pattern here,' Mr Ruane said. 'Something's got to change. Whatever processes are in place at the moment are not working.' The coronial investigations into the deaths of Sophia and Flanigan remain open. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.