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Homicide suspected in deaths of father and 10yo in Biggenden shed fire, police believe 'third party involved' - ABC News

Queensland Police is now treating the deaths of a man and his daughter as a homicide, believing a third party was involved in a fire in a North Burnett shed where the pair's remains were found last week.

The bodies of Todd Mooney, 54, and Kirra Mooney, 10, were discovered by fire crews in the burnt-out shed in Biggenden on December 20.

State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers are searching the area for evidence, including possible weapons.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Pettiford said the forensic examination of the bodies had prompted police to upgrade the investigation to homicide.

"Originally, we thought this was a terrible, tragic accident," he said.

"We [now] believe that the fire was deliberately lit and, as direct consequences of that, the two people have passed away.

"It's gone from a terrible tragedy to a horrific homicide involving a little 10-year-old girl and her father."

Briggen fire aerials
Human remains were found in a burnt-out shed last week. (ABC News)

Detective Inspector Pettiford said he was "very shocked" by the change in investigation from accident to homicide.

"There was no indication initially that anything untoward had happened," he said.

Detective Inspector Pettiford said investigations had "not concluded yet".

"We're looking for anything – whether it be a firearm, a knife – just anything unusual that may have been thrown into the grass," he said.

"We believe there is a third party involved."

A man in a suit looks at the camera, police tape in front of him, leaning against a post with a property behind
Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford says the investigation has been upgraded to a homicide after forensic examinations.(ABC Wide Bay: Audrey Courty)

SES North Burnett controller Brian Lowe said 22 volunteers were part of the forensic search team.

"We look for something that shouldn't be there — possibly a knife, a gun, an iron bar. We don't know … there's a lot of questions unanswered."

A man in an SES uniform looks at the camera with his hands on his hips, green paddock behind
SES controller Brian Lowe is assisting in the search of paddocks for a potential weapon.(ABC Wide Bay: Audrey Courty)

Due to be married

Detective Inspector Pettiford said Mr Mooney's partner and Kirra's mother Rebecca Hansen was at work at the time of the fire and was "distraught".

"Todd was the local baker out here, and Bec worked in the bakery itself," he said.

"She was actually due to be married yesterday to Todd.

"She's obviously distraught, not just losing her partner, but her 10-year-old daughter."

A teddy bear is placed on a wooden seat outside a bakery
Members of the Biggenden community have placed tributes at the front of Todd Mooney's bakery.(ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)

Plea for public assistance

Detective Inspector Pettiford said police were "really interested" in help from the community.

"We're appealing to members of the public in this local area to come forward if they do know anything about this incident," he said.

"We're also looking for any dashcam [footage] that might be available from motorists that were travelling between Biggenden and Mundubbera on December 20 between 10:00am and 2:00pm."

A police van parked at a rural property, a gravel drive way at the front, a burned out structure behind
Detective Inspector Pettiford says investigations will continue.(ABC Wide Bay: Pat Heagney)

Detective Inspector Pettiford said the investigations were ongoing.

"Our forensic side of things have physically finished here on scene, so they left yesterday afternoon," he said.

"There's a lot of work to be done in the laboratories in Brisbane.

"We spend days out here shovelling the remainder [of the shed] and hand-sifting all the debris. That's taken quite a while."

A line of people in orange uniforms standing on grass, waiting.
A team of 22 SES volunteers search the area for evidence on Thursday morning.(ABC Wide Bay: Pat Heagney)

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIyLTEyLTI5L3BvbGljZS1sYXVuY2gtaG9taWNpZGUtaW52ZXN0aWdhdGlvbi1pbnRvLXNoZWQtZmlyZS1kZWF0aHMvMTAxODE0Mjcy0gEA?oc=5

2022-12-29 04:00:45Z
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