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A 12-year-old girl has faced court charged with murder after a woman was found dead in Footscray.<\/p>\n
The child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, sat in a children\u2019s court flanked by two female police officers.<\/p>\n
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A police officer at the scene on Thursday,<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jason Souith<\/cite><\/p>\n Her lawyer said the girl was vulnerable in custody due to her age and because she had an intellectual disability, autism, ADHD and anxiety.<\/p>\n He said the child also had a history of trauma and was at risk of self harming while in custody.<\/p>\n It is likely that lawyers will soon apply for bail for the child at the Supreme Court, so the girl could be released into a secure welfare placement, the lawyer said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ask that the authorities be alerted to her special needs that are exceptional in this case whilst she is being held effectively in a juvenile detention centre,\u201d the lawyer said.<\/p>\n Members of the victim\u2019s family also appeared in court, where the magistrate remanded the girl in custody to reappear next week.<\/p>\n The prosecution had initially asked for 12 weeks to prepare its case and obtain a pathology report, but the magistrate ruled that six weeks was appropriate \u201cgiven the nature of the case\u201d.<\/p>\n The girl looked around the room during the brief hearing, watching lawyers as they spoke to the magistrate from the nearby bar table.<\/p>\n \u201c[Child\u2019s name] what\u2019s going to happen is \u2026 today is Friday, and I\u2019m going to see you next [week],\u201d the magistrate said.<\/p>\n Homicide squad detectives at the scene.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Jason South<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll come up on this video screen, you won\u2019t come back into court. The police will now take you back downstairs and the lawyers will also see you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere am I going?\u201d the child asked.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re going to go out with police, and they\u2019re going to take you somewhere you can stay at the moment,\u201d the magistrate replied.<\/p>\n Earlier, police revealed emergency services were called to a building on Barkly Street in Footscray following reports that a 37-year-old woman had been found dead inside the complex, shortly before 2am on Thursday.<\/p>\n A 12-year-old girl was arrested at the scene and taken to hospital for an assessment under police guard before being charged with murder.<\/p>\n Victoria Police said earlier on Thursday that homicide squad detectives were still working to establish the relationship between the pair.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n