Woman found dead in Kearsley home near Cessnock in suspected domestic violence incident

A man has been arrested after a woman’s body was found at a Hunter Valley home following a suspected domestic violence incident on Friday night.

Hunter Valley Police District Commander Steve Laksa said on Saturday that police found the 39-year-old woman’s body at a house in Kearsley, near Cessnock, after one of her children walked 300 to 400 meters from the house to get help from a neighbour.

Early on Saturday detectives launched a manhunt and appealed to the public to find Christopher James McLoughney, 37, who lived with the 39-year-old woman and had been in an intimate relationship since June.

Police arrested McLoughney after he was spotted in Bellbird, four miles south-west of Cessnock, on Saturday night.

Police allegedly seized a 2008 black Hyundai Tuscon SUV with a sawn-off shotgun and ammunition inside. The man was taken to Cessnock Police Station and remained in custody.

Laksa described the death as a “traumatic event.”

“This was pretty horrific for the family members, their two adult children and one young child… As you can imagine, a domestic violence-related homicide would be pretty confronting for anyone,” he said.

“I can only imagine the negative impact this will have on community members and family members.”