EXCLUSIVE
A young woman who stabbed her mother to death before she was shot dead by police had repeatedly threatened to harm her in the weeks leading up to the tragedy, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Joanne Perry, 53, died on Friday night when she was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest by her daughter Carly Pirronelli, 26, in Lower Plenty, 16km north-east of the Melbourne CBD.
A police officer was forced to shoot and kill Pirronelli after she refused to put down the knife.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal Perry had feared her wayward daughter, who had a troubled past that included home invasions and drug charges.
A neighbor close to the family said Pirronelli’s mental health had spiraled out of control over the past few weeks as her worried mother fought unsuccessfully to have her committed to a psychiatric ward.
The 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
The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she had almost called the police herself 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 violence 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 several times. There are psychological problems with the daughter, so it’s a really sad story, she said.
Carly Pirronelli, 26, stabbed her mother to death before she was shot dead by police
Carly Pirronelli lived at the end of a quiet nook with 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.’
Police was called to Kett St around 6:30 p.m. Friday after reports of Pirronelli trying to set his mother on fire.
Upon arrival, officers said they were challenged by Pirronelli, who was armed with a knife, and despite being told to drop the weapon, continued to plunge the blade into his mother’s torso and neck.
Pirronelli, who was out on bail for an unrelated matter and the subject of an apprehended assault warrant, was shot by a police officer and died at the scene.
The neighbor claimed that police fired up to half a dozen shots all over the place during the horrific incident.
“I guess some of them were probably warning shots given what they encountered,” she said.
Carly Pirronelli and her mother in happier times
Carly Pirronelli, 26, stabbed her mother to death before she was shot dead by police
It is understood Pirronelli’s family had tried desperately to get help for her, but they 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.’
Carly Pirronelli (pictured) had a dark past which included home invasions and drug charges
Joanne Perry (pictured), 53, died on Friday night when she was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest by her daughter Carly Pirronelli
Just over a year ago, Pirronelli appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with home invasion.
She was alleged to have entered a Kingsbury home as a trespasser in the company of one or more persons while another person was inside the house on February 21, 2023.
It was further alleged that Pirronelli entered the Lowell Avenue home with ‘intent to assault a person’ and she was also charged with possession of cannabis.
The home invasion charge was eventually dropped in August after prosecutors withdrew their case.
Magistrate Belinda Franjic said only the charge of possession of cannabis would be brought forward.
The judge said she took into account Pirronelli’s ‘lack of prior conviction or finding of guilt’.
“The criminal charges, the home invasion charge, have been dropped after being withdrawn by the prosecution,” she said.
Prior to the horrific double tragedy, mother and daughter appeared to have a close and happy relationship.
Photos posted on their social media profiles show them smiling widely with their arms around each other.
On one occasion, they even joked about what their graves would look like.
Carly Pirronelli and her mother had a troubled relationship due to her mental illness
Pirronelli tagged his mother in the comments section of a Facebook post showing a grave site with cannabis plants growing out of it and the caption ‘How my grave will look’.
“Next to your cascade bottles (and) brands of guitar,” Pironelli wrote with a smiley emoji.
‘OMG haha,’ her mother replied.
Speaking about the shooting of Pirronelli, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Scott Colson said the officer had no choice but to shoot.
“It’s a terrible situation,” he said. ‘They (police) don’t go to work expecting to draw their firearms and be involved in these kinds of tragedies.’
Superintendent Scott Colson said he was ‘comfortable’ with the officer’s actions when confronted with the ‘horrific situation’.
“Police were confronted by the daughter stabbing the mother and have urged the daughter to drop the knife,” he said.
‘However, she continued to stab the mother… tragically both the mother and daughter died at the scene.’
