“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault, totally mine.”
These were the chilling words of a handwritten suicide note found in the Hunt family home when the bodies of Kim, 41, and her three children – Fletcher, 10, Mia, 8, and Phoebe, 6 – were discovered, shot dead, at their rural property in southern NSW last September.
The following day, 44-year-old Geoff Hunt’s body was discovered in a nearby dam with a gun close by.
It is believed Mr Hunt shot out his entire family before turning the gun on himself, but Lockhart locals are at a loss for the motivation behind the shocking crime.
News Limited reports Mr Hunt was concerned about the frost affecting his crops and that the family had been under strain since Mrs Hunt was injured in a car crash years earlier.
An associate of Mr Hunt told the publication after the tragedy that the crime was a complete surprise.
“There was absolutely no indication that anything was wrong or that anything like this was about to happen,” he said.
“He appeared to be in fine spirits.
“He’s a lovely guy, very easygoing and he seemed happy and perfectly normal.”
Coroner Michael Barnes today said the inquest was “not intended to demonise or blame anyone”, ABC reports.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer, said the real question in the “truly tragic” case was how the “loving and gifted family” died.
“Who shot the five deceased and why?”
The authorship of the suicide note is not known.
It, along with the testimony of a handwriting expert, will form a key piece of evidence in the inquest into the Hunt’s deaths, which began today in Wagga Wagga.
The hearing continues.
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DEBRIEF DAILY