THE family of an alleged cannibal mum admit that they should have “stepped in” before her four-year-old son was discovered murdered.

The brother of the suspected killer revealed his last texts with his sister, just days before she was accused of cooking and eating parts of her son’s arm in Australia.

The mother, 32, stands accused of a brutal and horrifying murder – leaving her family in shock

The boy (pictured) had been dead several days when he was discovered on Saturday

The young boy was discovered dead with “significant arm injuries” in his home in Wyong.

The tragedy has rocked the reportedly close-knit family of the suspected killer – with her brother saying that his agonised father and older brother are wondering whether they “could have stepped in”.

He told the Daily Mail: “They thought maybe they should have done something more.”

The family also blamed social services of failing the child.

The brother said: “My dad and brother didn’t think [her son] should have been given back to her after she last got out of rehab”.

Her family had previously thrown her out of the home for an alleged drug addiction and her own mother had taken out a court order to protect herself from her daughter’s abuse.

Five months ago, drug counsellors and welfare officers moved the pair to a housing complex in Wyong – where the boy was discovered dead on Saturday.

“We should have been closer to her, I guess”, said her brother.

The horrifying crime has rocked the quiet coastal town of Wyong

Police have cordoned off the home where the boy was found

“And we should have gone and helped her, but this is nothing we could have expected”, he added.

Police raced to the home on Saturday after the woman handed herself in and reportedly confessed to cannibalising her own child.

The mother was arrested on Sunday morning and charged with murder.

The devastating news came as a shock to the family with her brother stating that she seemed “okay” over text.

He said: “I spoke with her days ago, last week, by text. She seemed okay, just usual stuff.

“She was proud of me, what I’ve done… because I had problems too, with my kids.”

He had last seen her three months ago at their mother’s house in Sydney.

He described his little sister as having been a “lovely” girl growing up but having problems as she got older.

When asked how the family was coping with the charges, her shook his and said “we don’t know how this happened”.

Social services had been in contact with the mother and her son three times over suspected neglect and drug abuse.

But the child was still allowed to live with his convicted criminal mother.

New South Wales minister for families and communities Kate Washington revealed on Monday that the last encounter had been 18 months ago.

She also announced that an investigation would be launched to probe into “what decisions were made” and whether they were “adequate”.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16667979/cannibal-mum-family-should-have-stopped-son-killing/