Schoolmates of a young girl who police believe was killed in her home by her stepfather are urging fellow students to remember her with flowers.
The 12-year-old, who has three younger siblings, was found dead in her bedroom in suburban Aberglasslyn in NSW's Hunter region in the early hours of Wednesday, police say.
The girl's 31-year-old de facto stepfather has been charged with murder and will appear at Maitland Local Court on Thursday morning.
It will be alleged he fled the scene in the family car but was tracked down in nearby Rutherford.
"The (girl's) body did show some signs of violence, but insofar as when the violence was inflicted, well, we're still making inquiries in relation to that," Superintendent Craig Jackson told reporters on Wednesday afternoon
Supt Jackson said no weapons had been found at the scene and it was too early to say whether drugs were a factor in the killing.
The girl's siblings and mother spent the day at Maitland Police Station and will receive counselling, Supt Jackson said.
Local children have laid floral tributes near the girl's home and a memorial assembly is expected to be held at her high school, where it is believed she was a seventh-grader.
Several students described her as a sweet but quiet girl who kept to herself.
"We are trying to get as many people as we possibly can to bring flowers for her, even if you didn't know her," one student wrote on Facebook.
Supt Jackson said investigators are working to determine whether the family had a history of domestic violence.
"No matter how you look at this, this is nothing short of a tragedy," he said.
"The message I will put out there to the community is, if you are experiencing domestic violence, if you know of someone who is experiencing domestic violence, then contact your local police."
The killing follows a horror fortnight marked by incidents of domestic violence around Australia.
On September 8, Gold Coast mother-of-one Tara Brown, 24, was allegedly run off the road by her former partner before she was bashed to death while trapped in an upturned car.
On the same day, a 63-year-old woman and her seven-year-old grandson were allegedly stabbed by the woman's son and found dead on the front lawn of a property in Sydney's west.
Two days later, a 49-year-old woman was shot dead by a man believed to be her former partner at a Gold Coast McDonald's.
On Tuesday, heavily pregnant Kirralee Paepaerei was allegedly stabbed to death at her home in Sydney's west by her partner.
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