Children home when mother was allegedly killed, partner in custody for questioning

A Perth man arrested in connection to the sudden death of his partner, allegedly crashed his car a short time later before staggering into a nearby stranger’s home and attempting to self-harm.

Steven Dean, 37, was taken into custody for questioning by police on Berwick Street in St James around 8.30pm on Monday, 45 minutes after his partner, Emmerich Lasaker, 35, was found inside their Kewdale home with significant injuries. No charges have been laid against Dean.

Police and St John Ambulance administered first aid to Lasaker before she was conveyed to Royal Perth Hospital, where she later died.

A neighbour who lived close to the Knutsford Avenue home was in tears as she told Nine News Perth she heard screams coming from the property where two young girls lived. WA Police said the children were in the home at the time of the incident.

A boy who lived on the same street said he knew the children from school and saw them crying in the street moments after the alleged attack.

Police said they were also investigating “a possible link” between Lasaker’s death and an armed robbery a short time later at a service station on the corner of Kent and Berwick Streets in East Victoria Park.

The car crashed at a St James intersection.

Police then allege that Dean crashed his vehicle – a grey Ford Ranger Raptor dual-cab utility – on Berwick Street, near the intersection of Emily Street in St James, before he fled to a nearby property.

St James residents Shane and Shaun Lowe said the impact of the crash shook their house.