Grandmother charged with murder of two boys in Coonabarabran in NSW
A grandmother has been charged with the alleged double murders of two schoolboys in the north-west of New South Wales.
The brothers, aged seven and six, were found dead at a semi-rural property on the outskirts of Coonabarabran on Monday afternoon.
NSW police have charged the boys' 66-year-old maternal grandmother with two counts of murder.
She was refused bail and will appear at Parramatta bail court on Saturday, police said.
On Monday afternoon, two police officers went to the home after a message sent to the communities and justice department triggered an emergency response.
The officers broke into the house to find the boys' bodies in separate bedrooms, while their grandmother was nearby.
She was arrested and taken to hospital.
The woman was taken to Orange police station after she was released from the hospital on Friday.
A crime scene has been established, and officers from the Orana mid-western police district and detectives from the state's homicide squad have commenced an investigation.
Grieving members of a small rural community gathered to honour the lives of two boys on Friday.
A tree was to be planted for each boy, along with a ceremonial presentation of the karate students' yellow belts.
Warrumbungle Shire councillor, Kodi Brady, told AAP he hoped the vigil would help the community cope with the tragedy.
'It's a really important part, to take the community on the stepping stone of healing from the shock of the incident to another step forward in the grief and loss process,' he said.
'We're a small rural town, there is such a ripple effect ... it has impacted the whole community.'
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