I'm now going to tell of a heart-rending story which I've just read in an Australian newspaper.
It's about a farmer and his family,wife and 3 children. The wife had been involved in a car accident and underwent intensive brain surgery,but sadly her brain had lost the functions of love and empathy and she struggled on a day to day basis to try and revert back to how she used to be before the accident robbed her of a normal life.
The childrens' ages ranged from 10 year old Fletcher,8 year old Mia and 6 year old Phoebe.
Geoff Hunt,the father/husband of this delightful family,was his normal pleasant self as he paid a visit to the local hardware store,nothing unusual in himself,his manner or anything. However,next day,he shot all his family in their home,took himself to the local dam which was on the property,and killed himself-----murder/suicide.
The person narrating the story is the sister of the woman who'd suffered the brain injury,and who said that she didn't blame her brother-in-law for murdering the family,as,she goes on to say,that unless you've lived with someone who suffers brain injury in some way,you can't judge how life must have been for the family.
In fact,the sister went on to say that she felt great compassion for her brother-in-law who killed her sister,two nieces and a nephew,because there were so many things her sister couldn't do,that Geoff himself had felt he could no longer continue.
Locals couldn't believe what had happened,saying that Geoff was his usual jovial self,doing errands for everyone as though nothing was amiss.
A lovely family wiped out on a whim. Nine times out of ten,the murderer usually takes his or her life,particularly if they'd been close relatives.