A young woman who stabbed her mother to death before she was killed in a hail of police bullets believed that mystics were the answer to her severe mental health problems.
Carly Pirronelli, 26, murdered her mother Joanne Perry on Friday, February 8, during what is believed to have been a psychotic episode.
The deeply disturbed woman was shot by police as she continued to stab her 56-year-old mother in the neck and chest at her Lower Plenty home, 16km north-east of Melbourne.
Mrs Perry had been no stranger to the dangers of mental illness and worked for years as an outreach worker in organizations such as Anglicare and Berry Street.
While concerned neighbors told Daily Mail Australia that Pirronelli’s family had desperately sought to have her committed to a psychiatric facility, the troubled woman sought solace from psychics and media.
Mother and daughter (left and right respectively) are pictured in a selfie taken by Carly Pirronelli
The home where Carly Pirronelli murdered her mother before she was gunned down by police
In January 2023, a little more than a year before her fatal attack, Pirronelli put out a call on social media for information about clairvoyants in Bali.
She had been planning a trip for months, and her post asking for information on the Bali Bogans Facebook page was largely met with ridicule about her spelling and psychic pitfalls.
‘Pretty bad comments. (From some). Eeveryone has their (sic) own beliefs and that’s it,’ she wrote in response to a barrage of nasty comments.
‘I believe in psychics and looking for a reading… Yes anyone who doesn’t believe in this can take all the piss they like.’
Pirronelli is believed to have traveled to a restaurant in Seminyak to meet with a psychic named Stephanie.
Carly Pirronelli, 26, stabbed her mother to death before she was shot dead by police
The young woman appeared to be in good spirits during her Bali getaway with friends, posting her recommendations on the same Facebook page for local drivers and other service providers.
‘Hhighly recommend! Best massage I have had in Bali. Bbeautiful ladies and treatment!’ she posted the same day as her psychic callout.
Months earlier, Pirronelli hit the site in an attempt to help his mother find lodging in the popular tourist spot.
Hi guys, so my mum and her partner are looking to go to Bali next month and haven’t been abroad in years so I’m looking to find one of the best resorts even for $100+ per person. night in the middle of Legian or Kuta x,’ she then wrote.
Photos of Pirronelli and her mother were posted on social media in the years before they died showed them smiling with their arms around each other.
But Pirronelli’s life began to spiral out of control not long after her return from Bali.
Police charged her with an alleged home invasion on February 21.
While the charges were eventually dropped in August after prosecutors withdrew their case, the ordeal caused Pirronelli great distress.
Speaking after the tragedy, neighbors told Daily Mail Australia that Pirronelli’s mental health took a nosedive in the months following her court hearings.
Carly Pirronelli and her mother in happier times
Carly Pirronelli, 26, seemed content during her trip to Bali
A neighbor claimed Mrs Perry had feared her wayward daughter before her shocking death.
The neighbor, who was close to the family, said Pirronelli’s distraught mother fought unsuccessfully to have her committed to a psychiatric ward.
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had almost called the police in the weeks leading up to Friday night’s tragedy.
“I’ve been hearing for several weeks now that there’s been a lot of domestic help going on,” she said.
‘They were always shouting. I could also hear a man’s voice sometimes. Once or twice I wanted to call the police, but I didn’t know exactly where it was (coming from).’
The neighbor claimed that others who live near the home had called the police about their concerns.
‘Apparently it had been reported numerous times. There are psychological problems with the daughter, so it’s a really sad story, she said.
Carly Pirronelli and her mother
The neighbor claimed she heard someone she believed to be Pirronelli making repeated threats against her mother.
“I had heard threats before, that’s why I wanted to call the police,” she said.
Some of these threats included threats to set people on fire.
“I had heard about the fire before,” she said.
‘It just sounded really threatening.’
It is understood Pirronelli’s family had desperately tried to get help for her but struggled to get help.
‘She had major mental problems and they had tried to get her into an institution. She has been manic or psychotic for the past few weeks and had tried to get her committed, the neighbor said.
‘It is so difficult to have people engaged, and now she is also dead. It’s all very sad… a lot of the time these people are just alone. It’s quite scary’.
The neighbor claimed that arguments heard echoing from the property increased significantly this year.
‘Once or twice I just thought it was a bit worrying. This is a pretty quiet area so it was obvious,’ she said.
‘I’m sure when she was in a good place she was a lovely daughter but when you’re psychotic you’re not in control.’
For confidential support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14