Flowers have already been laid in memory of a 48-year-old woman killed in an alleged domestic violence attack at an Armidale unit early this morning, as a 53-year-old man faces a murder charge.
Loved ones of the woman came about 7am and laid bunches of flowers as close as the police tape would allow, at the end of the driveway.
Emergency services were called to a unit complex on Rockvale Road about 2.15am today, Thursday, 29 October, following reports of a stabbing.
Officers attached to New England Police District found the woman with multiple stab wounds. She was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics, but died at the scene.
The 53-year-old man, Vincent Raymond Blair, the defacto partner of the woman, was arrested at the scene and taken to Armidale Police Station. He has since been charged with murder, and did not apply for bail.
The woman has been identified, and friends and family are being notified.
“We have been in contact with her family this morning,” said officer in charge of Armidale Police Station, Inspector Greg Ryan.
“Obviously, this is devastating for the family, and we will continue to support the family and the community around this incident.”
Both the man and woman are known to police. Inspector Ryan confirmed the death is being treated as a domestic violence incident. The small block of units, set back from Rockvale Road, adjoins the drainage reserve there, resulting in a larger area being cordoned off while police investigate. A knife has been seized as evidence.
“These scenes are obviously quite tragic for emergency services, as you can imagine,” Inspector Ryan said.
“It’s not a nice job to go to.”
At Women’s Shelter Armidale, staff are feeling the loss.
“It’s a range of emotions,” said Women’s Shelter Armidale CEO Heidi Burton.
“I think from sad to anger to also a realisation that this is why we do the work that we do. How important it is.”
Ms Burton said a death like this had not happened in Armidale in recent history, and the community was already responding.
“Certainly, we’re seeing community members reach out,” she said.
“It’s starting conversations, which is really important.”
She expects more flowers to be laid.
“I imagine there will be. We’ve had a lot of people reaching out,” Ms Burton said.
She said the region’s domestic violence rate was already well above the national figure, and that the true picture was worse.
“What I can say is we’re two times the national average on paper, and we know that it goes severely underreported in our region, that people don’t go to police,” Ms Burton said.
“People are hesitant to go to police. I mean, for obvious reasons, safety, and also, if we look at the stats of how many people are actually convicted or held accountable, it’s pretty minimal in comparison to the rate of DV that is actually reported.”
Asked whether Armidale sees a high number of domestic violence cases, Inspector Ryan pointed to the statewide picture.
“Across the state, I think the figures are that we respond to a domestic violence incident one in every three minutes, so it’s something police are dealing with regularly,” he said.
“But again, I reinforce our focus is to respond to domestic violence and protect victims.”
He urged anyone with concerns to come forward, including neighbours and others living nearby.
“A big focus of what we do is domestic violence response,” Inspector Ryan said.
“We’re there to support victims, and this can happen to anybody in domestic violence-related incidents. So please come forward if you have concerns.”
Ms Burton said the community needed to resist the familiar responses that follow deaths like this one.
“I think the most important thing is oftentimes in situations like this, we start to hear the tropes of ‘not all men’,” she said.
“What I want to say to that is it can’t be that conversation. The conversation needs to be: all men, all women are responsible.”
“If you see something, hear something, know something, to provide adequate resources to both to get support and also holding our family and friends accountable if what we’re seeing is not healthy.”
“That we are getting them into support that they need, so that we can have a healthier, happier, stronger community.”
Women’s Shelter Armidale will hold Remember My Name, a community event as part of the 16 Days of Activism, to honour those who have lost their lives to violence in 2026. The shelter has created a film to remember their lives, acknowledge the grief of those left behind, and reflect on the urgent need for change. The free community barbecue and film screening will be held on December 10 at Legacy Hall on Faulkner Street.
Anyone with information about the Rockvale Road incident is urged to contact Armidale Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or at https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
If you need help or are upset by this story, please seek support.
- 1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- 13Yarn 13 92 76
- Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
- Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
- Headspace on 1800 650 890
If you’re in Armidale you can get support from the Women’s Shelter by calling 1800 005 352