Mum suspected of shooting baby 'was in custody fight'

Dead woman was in "Family Court battle"

Fight over child custody, house ownership

Wounded ex-husband recovering in hospital

THE woman suspected of shooting dead her eight-month-old son and wounding her ex-husband had reportedly been involved in a custody fight.

Jade Quilligan, 22, of Gracemere, near Rockhampton, Queensland, died of head injuries in hospital early yesterday.

There were reports last night that she had shot herself.

Residents of her quiet town heard two shots at 7.50pm on Tuesday.

As Ms Quilligan's son was carried to a neighbour's house in a desperate attempt to save his life, she left in a ute, which hit a tree 10km away at high speed.

Queensland Police found a handgun in the wreckage of the car.

Ms Quilligan is believed to have shot her ex-husband, Lenny Comollatti, in the stomach. He was recovering in hospital last night.

The Courier-Mail understands the couple were involved in a Family Court battle after a divorce late last year. Sources said custody of the child and ownership of a house was the subject of the fight.

Regional crime co-ordinator Inspector John Wacker said that his officers were profiling the couple, adding that the pair had been married for only a few months before their separation.

Shocked neighbours were the first to raise the alarm after Mr Comollatti, stumbled across the street for help. He screamed that his baby son was still inside the house.

Neighbours found the infant on the floor of the house and took him to the nearby house of an off-duty paramedic. The child later died in hospital.

Yesterday as investigations continued into the tragedy, neighbours were still coming to grips with the shocking events.

"I've been here three months and I've been telling people it's a quiet street," one neighbour said last night.

Jodie Bennett, 35, who lives next door said she became aware of the drama when she heard gunshots in the early evening.

"A man went in there and found the little fella on the floor," she said.

"There was screaming and everything. They were calling out to get an ambulance."

Neighbour Lisa Willis said the shooting was a  huge shock. "It's a very quiet street. We don't have anything like that happen here," she said.

Family friend Dott Fechner said the communit

would rally around the family.

"The community is very moved and very emotional," she said. "It's a tragedy for a small community, and we will be asking ourselves whether there was something we could have done."

She said the wounded father had other children, worked in a mine out of town, played football and was well respected.

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