TWO foster children lived with a convicted transgender triple killer for months despite authorities being aware, a local Australian media outlet has revealed.
Reginald Arthurell spent nearly 39 years locked up after being convicted for the violent deaths of three people.
In 1974, Arthurell was first convicted of manslaughter after stabbing a man believed to be the killer’s step-father to death in Sydney.
The offender was again convicted and locked up after fatally bashing a 19-year-old sailor during a robbery in 1981.
Finally, while on parole in 1995 for the first two deaths, Arthurell killed fiancee Venet Mulhall, 54, by beating her to death with a piece of wood, according to local media outlets.
After the horrific murder, Arthurell took selfies while wearing one of Venet’s dresses.
Court documents show that all three killings involved alcohol.
Arthurell began transitioning to being a woman shortly after being released from prison in 2020.
For several months, the convicted killer was living in the same house as a 12-year-old and a 14-year-old, according to a 2GB radio investigation.
On Monday, Arthurell was removed from the home after heavily armed officers raided the Sydney address, the outlet reported.
The next day, the minister for Families and Communities of New South Wales (NSW) issued an apology, saying the situation “should never have been allowed”.
“It is entirely unacceptable for a vulnerable child in the care of the state to be living with a triple murderer,” Kate Washington said.
Speaking to 2GB, she added that she was “deeply apologetic for what has happened”.
Washington said “very poor decisions were made” when authorities were made aware of the situation and said a review was underway to understand how the “terrible” circumstances were allowed to happen.
The bombshell revelation sparked widespread backlash and calls for the resignation of authorities who allowed the crisis to continue for months.
Last year, Arthurell moved into an existing foster home in Sydney alongside the two children who were already under the care of an elderly woman, the outlet revealed.
It is believed the killer met the woman while she was working at a hospital where Arthurell was a patient.
Despite already caring for the two children, she invited Arthurell to move in as a housemate.
She was an approved carer with the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice at the time.
The new living arrangement went unnoticed by authorities until the carer’s daughter reportedly raised concerns in late 2025.
Speaking to 2GB, the woman’s daughter said her mother had “unknowingly” allowed Arthurell to move into her home last December.
“A text message came from one of my siblings and it said, ‘Please do a Google search on this person’,” she said.
“All this information came up.
“It started sounding alarm bells from the information that I’d heard in conversation with my mother to say that Reginald was now identifying as a woman.”
After the shocking discovery, the woman said she had tried to question her mother.
She was dismissed with one simple sentence: “This person has changed”.
Before moving into the home, the killer had built an extensive criminal history.
The most grave offending included the murder of three people over three decades, according to court documents.
Following being released from prison in 2020, Arthurell began transitioning into a woman using the name Regina.
Public pictures and self introductions appeared on a transgender community Facebook page in May 2021, 2GB reported.
Arthurell expressed plans to undergo gender-affirming surgery “as soon as possible”, news.com.au reported.
Court documents show “her transition [had] been taking place over quite some years”, confirming the process would continue following the release.
Arthurell now resides in private accommodation following Monday’s removal, according to ABC.
