Children found dead in forest
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Melbourne
Age newspaper:
Children found dead in forest
By DAVID REARDON
and TORRANCE MENDEZ
07/25/99
What would make a father kill his own children?
The tragic discovery yesterday of five lifeless bodies in a Western
Australian
forest has shocked a state still grappling to understand a chillingly
similar
murder-suicide that claimed six young lives earlier this month.
Police were last night trying to piece together the last events
surrounding the
deaths of 31-year-old Mark Andrew Heath and his four children, Sarah, 8,
Holly,
6, Jak, 4, and Kaleb, 2.
Their bodies were found about 11am inside Mr Heath's Lada Niva on an
isolated
track in the Grimwade Forest, 200 kilometres south of Perth.
Inspector George Loverock confirmed the case was being treated as a
murder-suicide.
``There was a pipe or tube leading from the exhaust pipe to a rear vent
in the
vehicle,'' Inspector Loverock said.
He said three pig shooters had made the awful discovery yesterday,
finding the
five people and a family dog dead inside the vehicle.
The bodies will be returned to Perth today for post-mortem examinations.
The tragedy comes just three weeks after Barbara-Anne Wyrzykowski, 25,
committed Australia's worst murder-suicide when she gassed herself and
her five
children in the family car on the outskirts of Perth.
Inspector Loverock said he hoped the latest tragedy was not a copycat
murder
but admitted there were similarities between the two cases.
Police had been searching for Mr Heath for four days after he failed to
return
his children to their mother's home at Golden Bay, 60 kilometres south
of
Perth.
He had taken the children during an access visit to see relatives in
Albany, on
Western Australia's far south coast.
Mr Heath, who broke up with the mother two years ago, called his former
partner
on Monday to say he was stopping for a picnic with the children.
She raised the alarm on Tuesday. With the Wyrzykowski case still fresh
in the
public mind, community leaders began questioning the social factors
underlying
both cases.
Captain Richie Watson, of the Salvation Army, said yesterday
high-profile
tragedies - particularly when children were involved - often resulted in
widespread despair and grief throughout the community.
``It's an absolute tragedy that something like this happens. It was so
unnecessary,'' he said.
Captain Watson said people would be asking why innocent children had to
die.
``The unfortunate part is that nobody will ever know because only one
person
can answer that question,'' he said.
The latest tragedy was eerily similar to the Wyrzykowski murders. On 3
July, Ms
Wyrzykowski drove to an isolated forest on the outskirts of Perth with
her five
children - aged between eight and two - and destroyed her family.
Ms Wyrzykowski had shown no signs of depression or suicidal tendencies
and was
in a stable de facto relationship. She left behind a suicide note and a
heart-broken father.
Another three Western Australian children were killed in a
murder-suicide in
October last year. Their father, Ronald Jonker, 32, abducted the
children after
losing a Family Court dispute with his estranged wife.
After eluding police for several days, Mr Jonker drove his car to a
remote area
in Perth's northern reaches, connected a pipe to the exhaust pipe and
gassed
his children and himself.
WA Police Minister Kevin Prince expressed his profound sympathy to the
family.
``I would make a plea to any parent who, for whatever reason, thinks
they may
be in a similar state of mind that there are many people such as
friends,
family and counsellors who are willing and able to help if only they are
asked,'' he said.
--------------------------------------------------------
The following three news articles all appear courtesy of the 7/25/99
online
edition of the Westerm Australia Sunday Times newspaper:
Dad kills four kids
By BRUCE BUTLER and JIM KELLY
25jul99
THE bodies of missing father Mark Heath and his four children have been
found
in bush near Donnybrook in the South-West.
Mr Heath's white four-wheel-drive Lada vehicle was found with a hosepipe
connected to the exhaust. The car was found in dense forest by three pig
shooters.
The grim discovery – coming just three weeks after the Karragullen
murder-suicide in which a mother killed herself and her five children –
was
made at 9am yesterday.
Police said the bodies of a man and four children were found near
Grimwade, a
deserted milltown between Donnybrook and Bridgetown, about 250km south
of
Perth.
The area, 20km east of Balingup, is a mixture of heavily logged jarrah
forest
and pine plantations, with many bush tracks.
Yesterday, the children's distraught mother, Wanita Brown, was about to
speak
to The Sunday Times to plead for their safe return when police broke the
news.
Inspector George Loverock said: "They found in the vehicle five people
and a
dog. One adult and four children.
"I'm sorry to say there has been another tragedy in our South-West. I'm
not
sure how they died but there is a pipe leading from the exhaust and
through a
rear vent.
"All indications are it is a murder-suicide."
The tragedy was chillingly similar to the Barbara Wyrzykowski
murder-suicide,
where she gassed herself and her five young children in their car in
forest
east of Karragullen.
When asked if he thought yesterday's tragedy was a copycat situation,
Inspector
Loverock said: "I'd hate to think so, I'd hate to think this is going to
happen
again."
The bodies were removed late yesterday and post mortems will be
conducted in
Perth.
The tragic find ended a week of searches by police who feared for the
safety of
the family after Mr Heath, 31, and the four children, Sarah, 8, Holly,
6, Jak,
4, and Kaleb, 2, went missing on Monday.
Mr Heath phoned his former de facto saying he was taking the children on
a
picnic and would be back in Golden Bay the next day.
The children lived with their mother in sleepy Golden Bay, about 10km
north of
Mandurah. Mr Heath, unemployed and separated from Ms Brown for two
years, lived
with friends in nearby Singleton.
Ms Brown had custody of the children and Mr Heath had access. Sarah and
Holly
attended Singleton Primary School.
The family, believed to have been holidaying with Mr Heath's parents in
Albany
in the second week of the school holidays, had not been seen since 4pm
Monday
when they called at Tenterden general store, about 30km north of Mt
Barker.
Trish Inglis, who runs the store with husband Ted, said Mr Heath, his
head
recently shaved, was polite and the children appeared happy and well.
He bought a packet of cigarettes and a packet of lollies and headed
north on
Albany Hway.
It was the last time they were seen alive.
The discovery of the children's bodies comes only three weeks after the
murder-
suicide of a mother and children at Karragullen on July 3.
The bodies of a 25-year-old mother and her five children are found in
the
family's van in the State's worst murder-suicide.
Barbara Wyrzykowski gassed her children – Jayde Wyrzykowski, 22 months,
Jessie
Wyrzykowski, 4, five-year-old twins Sarah and Travis Goodall and Mark
Goodall,
aged eight.
Their bodies were found by a trail bike rider in the State forest east
of
Karragullen. Ms Wyrzykowski, who worked at a McDonald's restaurant, left
a
suicide note in her house for her partner Travis Goodall.
He learnt of the deaths after recognising the family van on television
news a
few minutes after reading the note. Mr Goodall said he was at a loss to
explain
why his former de facto partner had killed the children and committed
suicide.
-------------------------------------------------------
Media interview cut by shock news
By BRUCE BUTLER
25jul99
INTERVIEWING Wanita Brown was always going to be difficult.
Courageously, before the shocking news came, she agreed to a media and
police
request for a limited interview in a desperate plea for the safe return
of her
four children.
Surrounded by friends and family, it was obvious the strain of a
harrowing week
was taking its toll.
The children, due back in Perth on Tuesday, had been missing for four
days.
A girl's bike and some toys were gathered neatly against the back wall
of the
brick house.
Ms Brown was flanked by her mother, Jackie, who migrated from Scotland
decades
ago, and at least one sister.
"Just bring the kids back, that's all I want," she said, trying to pluck
up the
strength to say more.
She agreed it had been a terribly long week.
Suddenly, police media officer Kate Taylor emerged from the house,
called us
aside and said: "The interview is off."
She was reluctant to say any more but it was obvious something had
happened.
As The Sunday Times and Channel Seven crews left, a horrible chorus of
screams
erupted from within the house. The shocking news a mother had feared and
dreaded had just come through. The shrieks of overwhelming grief
shattered the
careful silence.
------------------------------------------------------
Copycat clue to deaths
25jul99
THE latest murder-suicide may have been a copycat of the Karragullen
tragedy
early this month, clinical psychologist Neil McLean said yesterday.
Barbara Wyrzykowski, 25, drove to an isolated bush track outside Perth
three
weeks ago and gassed herself and her five children by fitting a hose to
the
exhaust pipe of her van.
Mr McLean, a University of WA lecturer in clinical psychology, said that
might
have been the final factor in Mark Heath's decision to end his own life
and
those of his four children.
However, other serious factors would have been brewing beneath the
surface long
before Ms Wyrzykowski killed herself and her children.
"It is clear it is not just to do with that one factor, which may have
revealed
murder-suicide as an option," said Mr McLean, "It is almost certain
there would
have been a brewing sense of turmoil and conflict in that person (Mr
Heath)."
Mr McLean would not speculate on the reasons behind the tragedy but said
men
and women usually had different motivations for instigating a
murder-suicide.
Where women were involved, depression was usually the main factor; with
men the
motivations were more likely to be based on conflict and anger.
Mr McLean said recent occurrences in Mr Heath's life, such as shaving
his head
last week, might indicate he had been considering a major change.
Visiting the children's grandparents might have been a final goodbye but
Mr
McLean said he was wary of speculating about whether the murder-suicide
had
been planned that far in advance.
He said media reports might have sparked the latest tragedy, but he
argued
against media censorship on such issues.
"People in a vulnerable position can be influenced but I guess it is a
trade-off," he said. "We need to be better able to understand the sort
of
conflicts and desperation which give rise to such tragic responses and
how to
respond to people in those circumstances. We have to do whatever we can
do to
provide better options."
Meanwhile, Queensland suicide expert Frank Varghese said Mr Heath's
decision to
kill himself and his four children was more than likely born out of
revenge.
"There certainly has been a lot of these tragedies reported in recent
times and
it's got a lot to do with the amount of pressure on parents and
families," said
Dr Varghese, director of mental health at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra
Hospital.
"There are a lot more divorces these days with one in three marriages
failing
and that results in a lot of conflict over custody and contact with the
children."
He added: "The men often don't see the children as individuals, they see
the
kids as part of themselves.
"So killing their kids is just the same as killing themselves to punish
their
partner. It's a terrible thing."