A woman who drowned along with two of her children in a suspected murder-suicide had tried to heal her bipolar disorder with a diet recommended by a controversial celebrity ‘medical medium’.
The bodies of Hoai Doan, 32, and her children Mitchell, seven, and Hazel, five, were pulled from the Sydney‘s Georges River, near Shearer Park in Lansvale on Saturday following reports the family were caught in a fast-moving current.
Bystanders desperately tried to rescue the mother and children, jumping into the river and grabbing boats, but were unable to save their lives.
Police are reportedly investigating whether the tragedy was a murder-suicide.
On Monday morning, the children’s father Dinh Nguyen appeared at the wharf to lay flowers at the scene where Mitchell and Hazel lost their lives – and confirmed his wife took medication for bipolar disorder, describing her as ‘up and down’.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal Ms Doan had been hospitalised due to her mental health struggles within the past two years, and had an interest in holistic healing.
In a series of social media posts, the mother-of-three documented her marital problems and her efforts to fix her mental health – which appeared to be largely based on a a book called Brain Saver by a self-described ‘medical medium’, Anthony William.
In one post, a relative told her not to give up, to which she replied: ‘God doesn’t let me die easily.’
William, who does not appear to have a medical degree, maintains his medical expertise was given to him by a spirit at the age of four and his connection with that entity allows him to cure illnesses – ranging from mild to severe.
The book promises to provide readers with ‘answers to brain inflammation, mental health, OCD, brain fog, neurological symptoms, addiction, anxiety, heavy metals, seizures, lyme, ADHD, Alzheimers, autoimmune and eating disorders’.
Ms Doan’s posts, written in Vietnamese and translated to English, revolve around her hospitalisations, and how she started consuming ‘heavy metal detox smoothies’ and drinking honey lemonade to aid her condition.
In 2022, she wrote about a moment that she ‘lost control on the street and was taken away by an ambulance’, only to be released the following morning.
‘The second time I lost control at home and my family called an ambulance and stayed for a month, took medicine and had an extraction,’ she wrote.
‘The third time I caused a scene and argued with my husband and was arrested by the police and stayed for a month, took medicine and an extraction – this was the fourth time my husband called an ambulance and was extracted and had to take medicine.’
It was during her fourth hospital visit that she discovered William’s book.
‘[Anthony William] is the only person who says neurological illness is caused by silent metal in the brain,’ she wrote.
‘[His books] give answers to the serious diseases of the world. He was the first to look at the sick, and said that it is not the fault of the sick but the external influences.’
Ms Doan spoke about how she ‘must use heavy metal detox smoothie’, which contained five kinds of herbs, and mentioned moving back to Vietnam for the abundance of fruits and vegetables.
She continued: ‘There were times when my husband and I disagreed just because of food and drink, and then everything passed.
‘Even though Vietnam is not as good as Australia, after 3 years of treatment, I only see them giving me medicine and extracting the medicine. If I don’t go, the police will come to my house to escort me.
‘I have lived with medicine enough, even though everything is free, I choose freedom, happiness and eating according to [William].
‘Must use HMDS [heavy metal detox smoothie] 1 type of smoothie with 5 types of herbs to detox heavy metals and drink honey lemonade, squeezed juice.’
On Monday, Mr Nguyen opened up about his wife’s mental health struggles, telling the Sydney Morning Herald that his wife took medication.
‘Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,’ he said.
‘She has bipolar disorder, and she has some ups and some downs.’
He added that she was in good spirits late last week before the tragedy.
She often accompanied her husband to work as a handyman, but declined to go on Saturday.
‘She told me the last night she didn’t sleep so she wanted to stay at home,’ he said.
He only found out about the tragedy after he returned from work and police knocked on his door.
A friend told the publication that the family attended a birthday party at the same park a week beforehand.
Hazel was always smiling and loved princesses while Mitchell loved Spider-Man and math.
Family friend Sarah Vu launched a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for Mr Nguyen and his one-year-old son, who was is in Vietnam with relatives.
Almost $60,000 has been raised within two days.
Police investigations are continuing into what happened at the park.
‘Police and a number of bystanders conducted an immediate search operation for that female and two children,’ Fairfield acting superintendent Luke Scott said.
‘It’s beyond words how tragic it would have been for people who observed what happened and also for the family.
‘A number of the bystanders made their own attempts to rescue the children and their mother but unfortunately they weren’t successful in that.’
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Anyone with information about relating to this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline: 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636.
