Geoff Hunt’s shooting murder of his wife and three children before taking own life was the absolute worst of crimes, NSW state coroner Michael Barnes has said.
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Mr Barnes said he accepted Mr Hunt’s primary intention was to commit suicide and distorted logic led him to conclude his children and wife would not cope without him.
“He then set about systematically and cold bloodedly killing each of them, before killing himself,” he told the inquest.
“What Geoffrey Hunt did was inexcusable - the absolute worst of crimes.”
Mr Hunt used a shotgun to shoot his wife, Kim, at pointblank range outside their Lockhart district farmhouse on September 8, 2014.
He then shot his son Fletcher, 10, and daughters Mia, 8, and Phoebe, 6, as they lay in bed before driving to a nearby farm dam and shooting himself.
“It wasn’t premeditated; it wasn’t motivated by malice or to cover up other wrongs but it was completely unnecessary,” Mr Barnes said.
“It was the result of an egocentric delusion that his wife and children would be better off dying than living without him.”
Extensive background to the tragedy included a strained marriage before a near-fatal car crash in 2012 which left Mrs Hunt with a traumatic brain injury.
The corner said changed her in a way that made her on regular occasions “intolerant, indiscreet and abusive”.
Mr Hunt was also in deep distress as he was frequently belittled and harshly criticised by his wife in front of others.
“Geoff does not appear to ever have been treated for mental health issues,” he said.
“Marital and family stressors, including Kim’s permanent injuries, would likely have contributed to probable feelings of hopelessness for the future.
“For some reason, that night Geoff came to act on the view that he was better off dead.”