Three family members of accused arrested over killing of young woman in Australia

Three family members of a man accused of murdering a 23-year-old woman in New South Wales, Australia, have been arrested on charges of being accessories after the fact to the killing.

Emergency services were called to a house in Wagga Wagga on the morning of 19 September. There they found Danielle Madgwick suffering multiple stab wounds to her upper body. She died at the scene.

That same evening, Adam Mark Perrim, 31, who was alleged to be Madgwick's partner, was arrested and charged with alleged domestic violence murder. He briefly appeared in court, did not apply for bail and was remanded to reappear on 18 November.

On Monday, New South Wales police said they had raided over the weekend the same house where Madgwick had been found. Officers arrested two men, aged 18 and 56, and a 53-year-old woman.

The three were taken to Wagga Wagga police station, with each charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder. They appeared in court on Saturday for a committal hearing, were refused bail and were ordered to next appear on 23 December.

Court documents state that those arrested over the weekend were Perrim's brother, Bailey Perrim, his father, George Maxwell Richard Perrim, and his mother, Julie Ann Collins.

Police will allege in court that all three knew Madgwick.

Her death was one of three separate cases across the state investigated as domestic violence-related homicides that weekend.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said at the time that the alleged crimes were 'shocking' and his thoughts were with the families and communities of the three women.

Madgwick's father, Heath Madgwick, paid tribute to his daughter on social media last month on what would have been her 24th birthday. He wrote that words cannot describe the amount of emotions, thoughts and feelings experienced over the last four weeks. Her beautiful smile, her silly laugh, their goofy video calls and the memories of those moments are ones he will treasure for a lifetime, he said.

According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, a woman was killed every 11 days in 2024-25 by her intimate partner.

In Australia, domestic and family violence counselling is available from Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578. Helplines for the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries can be found on the Befrienders website.