Online she was a picture perfect mum, the kind of mother other women looked at and probably felt guilty about.
On Saturday Cheryl Lucas’s façade came crashing down in the hardest of ways as she was charged with murder.
The boy she splashed across social media now faces what is left of his childhood as an orphan, if she was found guilty.
Lucas is accused of stabbing to death her long-time partner Heath Speedie in what police alleged was a ‘family violence’ homicide.
A young child was reportedly at home when Lucas allegedly took to Mr Speedie with the knife.
For years Lucas had used her son to bask in the online glory associated with his existence.
‘He melts my heart, so much love for my (son),’ she gushed to one friend.
Again and again Lucas would post photos of the child and sit back and watch the ‘likes’ come in.
Cheryl Lucas preached how much she loved her son online. She is accused of killing her son’s father
The reason police allege that Lucas decided to murder her partner just days after celebrating Christmas is unknown.
The 38-year old allegedly stabbed Mr Speedie, 47, in the chest as he sat on the couch of their home in Park Lane, in the Ballarat suburb of Mount Helen, on Saturday.
It is alleged that Mr Speedie, who suffered critical injuries, managed to stagger outside before collapsing on the front lawn of the property.
Paramedics performed CPR, but he could not be revived. Police arrested Lucas at the home shortly before 8am.
Photos posted to social media show Mr Speedie with his arms slung around Lucas as far back as 2012.
Eerily, he posted a photo to his own social media account linking to a song titled: ‘I’m not dead yet’.
It includes the lyrics: ‘And this is what a broken heart beats like. It’s tearin’ up my chest like a jackknife. It gets me through the good and the bad times. This is what a sad song sounds like.’
Cheryl Lucas and Heath Speedie back in happier times. She is accused of stabbing him to death
Cheryl Lucas appeared to seek online kudos, sharing image after image of her young son growing up
Heath Speedie loved nothing more than catching fish on the open seas
Lucas appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday for a brief filing hearing.
Caged in the prison dock, she said nothing and made no indication she would make a bid for bail.
The court heard it was her first time in custody and arrangements would be made for her to see a medical professional in prison for an assessment for ‘health concerns’.
Mr Speedie’s family members, who attended the hearing in person, refused to speak to the waiting media outside court.
Neighbour Doug Mills told The Age that Mr Speedie had gone out of his way to introduce himself upon moving into the neighbourhood.
A young child was reportedly in the home when Cheryl Lucas allegedly murdered her partner
‘We would see each other, we would wave or acknowledge them, and that was about the extent of it really,’ Mr Mills told the publication.
‘Their house, diagonally, is about 40-odd metres away from our place. And from what I could determine, they kept pretty much to themselves, like most of us in this particular street.’
Mr Mills said Speedie was a keen fisherman and would often drive to Portland to fish.
His social media account showed he had owned boats over the years.
It also suggested he too had a kind heart, breaking 250 boards in a karate chop charity event in 2013.
Lucas will return to court on April 15.
