37-year-old Mersane Warria was charged with murder on Sunday in the deaths of eight children, including seven of her own and her niece, according to a police announcement.

Warria who is currently under police guard at a hospital recovering from stab wounds, faces eight counts of murder in the deaths of four boys and four girls, aged between 18 months and 15 years old.

On Friday morning police arrived at a home in the Cairns suburb of Manoora, responding to a report of an injured woman. However, what they actually found in the house was far more shocking: the bodies of the eight dead children along with injured Warria.

Although the details of the crime have not yet been released by the Police, Queensland Police Detective Inspector Bruno Asnicar said that some of the children might have been stabbed while others strangled to death.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott made the following statement: “The news out of Cairns is heartbreaking. All parents would feel a gut-wrenching sadness at what has happened. This is an unspeakable crime. These are trying days for our country.”