The young woman who stabbed her mother to death before being shot dead by police had a troubled past which included home invasion and drug charges.
Joanne Perry, 53, died on Friday evening when she was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest by her daughter Carly Pirronelli, 26.
Officers were called to Kett St in Lower Plenty, 16km north-east of Melbourne CBD about 6.30pm on Friday, following reports Pirronelli was trying to set her 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 her mother’s torso and neck.
Pirronelli, who was on bail for an unrelated matter and the subject of an apprehended violence order, was gunned down by a police officer and died at the scene.
Carly Pirronelli, 26, stabbed her mother to death before being shot dead by police
Carly Pirronelli (pictured) had a dark past which included home invasion and drug charges
Joanne Perry (pictured), 53, died on Friday evening when she was stabbed multiple times in the neck and chest by her daughter Carly Pirronelli
READ MORE: Joanne Perry stabbed to death by daughter who was shot dead by police in Melbourne
Melbourne woman Joanne Perry is pictured
Just over a year ago, she appeared at Melbourne Magistrates Court charged over a home invasion.
She was alleged to have entered a Kingsbury home as a trespasser in company with one or more persons while another person was inside the house on February 21, 2023.
It was further alleged Pirronelli entered the Lowell Avenue home with ‘intent to assault a person’ and she was also charged with cannabis possession.
The home invasion charge was eventually dropped in August after the prosecution withdrew their case.
Magistrate Belinda Franjic said only the cannabis possession charge would be proceeded with.
The magistrate said she took Pirronelli’s ‘lack of prior conviction or findings of guilt’ into account.
‘The criminal charges, the charge of home invasion, has been struck out having been withdrawn by the prosecution,’ she said.
Prior to the horrific double tragedy, the mother and daughter appeared to have a close and happy relationship.
Photos posted to their social media profiles show them smiling wide with their arms around each other.
On one occasion they even joked about what their graves would look like.
Pirronelli tagged her mum 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) marks guitar,’ Pironelli wrote with a smiley face emoji.
‘OMG haha,’ her mother responded.
An online exchange between Joanne Perry and her daughter Carly Pirronelli is pictured
Mother and daughter Joanne Perry (left) and Carly Pirronelli (right) are pictured
Ms Perry (left) and her daughter Carly Pirronelli (right) are pictured at Christmas
The mother and daughter (left and right respectively) are pictured in a selfie taken by Carly Pirronelli
Carly Pirronelli (left) is pictured with her mother Joanne Perry. Both women are now dead
Speaking about the shooting of Pirronelli, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Scott Colson said the officer was left ‘no other choice’ than to discharge his firearm.
‘It’s a terrible situation,’ he said. ‘They (police) don’t go to work expecting to draw their firearms and be involved in these sorts of tragedies.’
Superintendent Scott Colson said he was ‘comfortable’ with the officer’s actions when confronted with the ‘horrible situation’.
‘(Police) were confronted with the daughter stabbing the mother and have called on the daughter to drop the knife,’ he said.
‘However, she continued to stab the mother … tragically, both the mother and the daughter died on the scene.’
Neighbours said they heard multiple gunshots during the incident on the usually quiet street.
It is understood other people were inside the home at the time of the fatal attack, but the triple-O call came from neighbours.
The mother and daughter are pictured. Carly Pirronelli (left) killed her mother (right) on Friday
Officers had responded to neighbours’ reports the daughter was trying to set her mother on fire at the Lower Plenty property but were instead confronted with her repeatedly stabbing the older woman once they arrived
The mother, 53, died at the Kett St property and officers were forced to shoot the daughter, 26
In a statement, Victoria Police said they were not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.
Homicide Squad detectives will investigate the incident with oversight from the Professional Standards Command, which is standard protocol when a police firearm is discharged.
Ms Perry is the 17th woman killed in this year and the fourth to be slain this month.
According to n Femicide Watch, there have been two femicides a week since the year began.
The tragic incident unfolded on Kett St in Lower Plenty, Melbourne. Picture: Google Maps