The eight young victims of the Cairns massacre (images obscured for reasons of cultural sensitivity). Source: Supplied

There was the teenage tomboy who loved rugby league and AFL but liked to wear pink. The gorgeous toddler they called Baby Girl, on whom everyone doted. The children and their siblings and their mum lived together in the little Housing Commission weatherboard on Murray St, Manoora.

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A house that was filled with love, laughter and music — until Friday, when No.34 Murray St became a house of unspeakable horror.

When Mersane Warria, also known as Raina Thaiday, allegedly went on a murderous rampage, stabbing and suffocating to death seven of her children and a niece.

Police have formally identified the eight children killed in a Cairns home.

Eldest son, Lewis Warria, 20, discovered the horrific scene when he arrived at the home on Friday morning.

Lewis and his older sister Norena Warria, who escaped the massacre, had the unenviable task yesterday of identifying their younger siblings at Cairns hospital.

Cristal Atkinson, who babysat for the family for two years, saw the mood in the house change several months ago.

“There was a really different vibe in the house – it just didn’t feel comfortable to be there,” she said.

“I used to babysit three or four times a week but she (Ms Warria) stopped calling me around.”

In the days before the deaths, Ms Warria started moving furniture out of the house and told the children to sleep on mattresses in the back yard, Ms Atkinson said.

Children killed in the tragic Cairns massacre (standing, from left) Malili and Daniel, and (sitting, from left) Rayden, Petronella, Rodney and (far right) Azariah. Cousin Cassius (second from right) weas not a victim.

“She was saying she wanted to start a new life,” she said.

“About 24 hours before the kids were found, we saw her down the end of Murray St acting irrationally. Twenty-four hours later, we heard the sirens.

“We still can’t believe it. We’re all just in shock.”

Ms Atkinson said she preferred to remember the house and the children who lived there in happier times.

She and her younger sister Jade were closest to 14-year-old Malili.

“Malili was a very funny girl who went to Trinity Bay State High with Jade,” Ms Atkinson said.

The mother of seven of the children found dead in a Cairns home has been arrested for murder.

“She was a solid girl – you wouldn’t want to mess with her – who played rugby league and loved AFL. But her favourite colour was floral pink and I bought her a bright pink shirt for Christmas.”

Ms Atkinson said Rayden, aged about 7, was “very quiet”.

“He was an A-grade student who was also a rugby league boy but he was shy and didn’t talk much,” she said.

Suspect Mersane Warria with son Rodney as a newborn five years ago. Source: News Limited

The slain children’s babysitter Crystal Atkinson. Source: Supplied

In contrast, younger brother Daniel was “a little smart a ...,” Ms Atkinson said.

“He was a big joker,” she said.

“He’d spray whipped cream on my hand when I was asleep and push it towards my nose. He was a really happy, fun-loving kid.”

The youngest of the Warria/Thaiday clan was the two-year-old Petronella.

“Her name was hard to pronounce so everyone just called her ‘Baby Girl’,” Ms Atkinson said.

“Everybody doted on her because she was the baby.”

Ms Atkinson and Jade said the children were “always singing and dancing”, watching Disney movies or playing in the park next to their home.

A big fig tree in that same park has now become a shrine, laden with flowers, teddy bears and candles.

A shrine to eight little lost souls.

Older sister and brother of seven of the victims Noreen and Lewis Warria leave Cairns Hospital after viewing their siblings’ bodies. Pic: Brian Cassey Source: Supplied

SOME neighbours had never met the family at the centre of the tragedy, but life will never be the same for residents of Murray St, Manoora.

Lucy Piva and husband Lency did not know the Warria family personally but the couple broke down as they visited a growing shrine to the dead children.

“It’s a very big lesson to look out for each other as neighbours,” Mrs Piva said. “When there’s a noise, we should at least check what’s going on or call the cops straight away.

“It’s sad for all of us in Cairns. At the moment I feel helpless. Hopeless .”

Another long-time neighbour, Dianne Toby, described the Warrias as “a good family”.

“We are all in shock,” she said. “I don’t know how these things can happen to a good family.”

Police moved the shrine from a sealed-off section of Murray St into the park to allow more people to place flowers, teddy bears, candles and even food.

“We expect many more people will want to come and just show their respects,” Relationships Australia counsellor Debra Bennet said.

“People are showing their true hearts. They are leaving flowers, toys and even food. They are trying to nurture someone else’s soul.”