Dad and son, 15, killed of their house in tragic suspected murder-suicide

Jun 03, 2023 at 3:47 AM

Police are investigating a suspected “murder-suicide” after the our bodies of fishing fanatic Wayne Smith, 58, and his 15-year-old son Noah have been discovered on Thursday (June 1). Their small city of Yamba, Australia has been left in a state of shock as authorities had not believed {the teenager} was in danger, regardless of Wayne holding a gun-licence.

Police vowed to not “leave one stone unturned” as they try and string collectively the scant clues out there to grasp what occurred.

Emergency companies have been referred to as to the Smith’s house at Yamba following experiences two our bodies had been found by one among their relations at about 1.10pm on Thursday.

Upon figuring out the our bodies of Wayne Smith, 58, and 15-year-old Noah, superintendent Shane Cribb mentioned police have been treating the incident as a murder-suicide.

He mentioned there was no motive to suspect the 15-year-old was unsafe along with his father, however officers would proceed to research the circumstances.

“The 58-year-old man was a licensed firearm holder, so that was found at the scene,” he mentioned. “Police will speak to a number of people; we’ll look at the history of both the father and the son. We’ll look at the family history.”

“It’s an absolute tragedy”, he added. “Our job now is to be professional and put the evidence together. No stone will be left unturned, and hopefully we get to the bottom of why.”

Lisa Flynn, who lives on the identical avenue because the Smiths, told news.com.au the small, close-knit group has been left shocked by the incident.

“My partner came home at about 3pm and there were cops everywhere,” Ms Flynn mentioned. “No one had heard anything – no gunshot noises, nothing.

“You just wouldn’t expect it in this area; there are a lot of retirement-age people and single mothers here. It’s just surreal it could happen so close to us,” she mentioned.

Police mentioned the investigation into the incident was “in its infancy” however confirmed they “don’t believe a third party was involved”.

The avenue has since reopened, with officers from the Coffs Clarence Police District nonetheless investigating.

Police are taking measures to help the small group, with the deaths affecting college students and employees at Noah’s faculty in addition to folks related to native sports activities golf equipment.

Neighbours mentioned the daddy and son had been residing within the space for at the very least 10 years. Noah was a junior footballer within the small New South Wales east coast city, and Wayne spent 40 years working for the native Port Authority.

The two have been also referred to as fishing fans, having received native awards. Ms Flynn mentioned she typically noticed the pair outdoors engaged on the person’s boat collectively. Photos on social media present the duo with fish they’d caught collectively.

Ms Flynn added that though the neighbourhood is horrified by the deaths, they really feel safer realizing police don’t imagine anybody else was concerned.

“It gives us some relief knowing there probably isn’t a third person out there and that the matter is likely resolved.

“They had a good relationship with each other,” she mentioned. “I rarely saw the boy go to school, but I’d see them working on the dad’s boat a lot.”

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