A quiet coastal town in Queensland is reeling after a tragic and horrifying event unfolded this week. Police have charged 32-year-old Lauren Ingrid Flanigan with the murder of her three-year-old daughter, Sophia, following a brutal stabbing that took place right in the front yard of the family’s home in Moore Park Beach near Bundaberg.
It happened Monday night. Police responded to several emergency calls reporting that a young child had been stabbed multiple times. When officers arrived, they found the three-year-old in the yard.
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“Police located a three-year-old child in the front yard of that address,” Superintendent Inskip said. “Despite multiple attempts from police and ambulance officers to apply first aid to that child, that child unfortunately died due to the injuries that she had received.”
Flanigan was at the scene when authorities got there. She was taken into custody and formally charged with murder. A knife, believed to be the weapon used in the attack, was recovered at the scene.
As per 9News, two other children, just one and two years old, were also at the home during the incident. Thankfully, neither of them was harmed.
“There were two other children at the address at the time, both younger – aged one and two,” Superintendent Inskip confirmed. “Neither of them was injured in the incident yesterday, and they’re currently being cared for by family members.”
Police say the investigation is still in its early stages and, so far, there is no record of the family having prior contact with law enforcement.
Superintendent Inskip described the scene as one of the most difficult things emergency responders could face. “It’s a terrible, terrible thing for everybody, including the witnesses and neighbours, including the emergency services who attended … because it’s not something that we ever want to attend.”
As news of the incident spread, people began digging into Flanigan’s online presence—and what they found has only deepened the sense of shock. Her social media is filled with intense, sometimes cryptic religious messages and references to personal trauma.
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In what appears to be her final post, she wrote: “You are a WARRIOR OF LIGHT. Train like it’s war — because it is. God is calling His army out of hiding. This is kingdom rising. We move. We build. We burn with holy fire. No more delays. No more compromise. Tag your generals. It’s time to RISE.”
Other posts hint at a woman struggling beneath the surface. She shared photos of her children with captions like “My divine babies” and talked about creating a legacy and spending more time with family.
“I have given my life to serve. I have a beautiful little family who reminds me of love daily. A community that uplifts me, a church that grounds me,” she wrote. In another post, she described people as being like shells—broken, shaped by life’s hardships, yet still beautiful in the eyes of their creator.
Flanigan appeared briefly in Bundaberg Magistrates Court. Her lawyer did not apply for bail, and she has been remanded in custody. She is scheduled to appear in court again on July 21.
The family home has been declared a crime scene. Specialist officers from Brisbane have traveled to Bundaberg—about four hours north of the city—to assist with the ongoing investigation.
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