Melbourne Court Refuses Release of Lebanese Man Charged with Murdering Wife, Injuring 3 Children

A Melbourne court has denied bail to Bassam Raad, a man of Lebanese origin, after he was charged with butchering his wife, 27-year-old Zeinab Taleb, and injuring his three children.

The body of the victim, who hails from Akkar, was found wrapped in a quilt at a tennis center's car park in Dallas, 18 kilometers north of Melbourne, on June 17.

The injury charges relate to the alleged assault of his three children, a six-year-old boy, four-year-old boy and two-year-old girl. The children had some of their bones broken when they were hospitalized on Monday with non life-threatening injuries.

Police had been investigating the discovery of a woman's body, found less than three kilometers from Raad's house, when they were called to his property on Monday night after reports of "yelling and screaming."

Raad's name had been linked to 12 others charged with plotting to carry out terrorist attacks in Melbourne in 2008.