Trigger warning: This post contains an account of domestic abuse which may be triggering for some readers.
A Sydney man called on family and friends to care for his soon-to-be orphaned children in a disturbing Facebook post shared just moments before shooting his wife and turning the gun on himself.
“What would you do if you found out your wife of 10 years, has been cheating on you with a Muslim lebo?” he wrote, according to the Daily Mail.
“To all our family and friends, I would like to request that those of you whom have met our children, to please assist in their well-being. The smallest gestures count most … we will be watching from above.”
He signed it off with a smiley face.
Attached to the post was a series of links to documents outlining his wife’s alleged infidelity along with a photograph of her dressed in lingerie and high heels.
Two friends who saw the post immediately rushed to the couple’s home to intervene, but both husband and wife were dead when they arrived – a bloodied letter lying next to them on the floor.
In the handwritten note, which was addressed to police, the 36-year-old man accused his wife of having an affair with a co-worker and claimed she threatened their young children to force him to keep it a secret.
Witness statements tendered to Glebe Coroner’s Court suggest the woman may have been involved in an affair, which ended at least a year earlier.
She also reportedly told her parents she wanted to leaver her husband because he “treated her like an animal”.
“My husband told (the husband) that in future, if (our daughter) does anything wrong he needs to inform him rather than assaulting her,” the woman’s mother told police, according to the documents.
She admitted her daughter labelled her partner as “very controlling” and said he “would not let her live her own life”.
The state coroner concluded the man shot his wife before turning the gun on himself.
If this post brings up any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. It doesn’t matter where you live, they will take your call and, if need be, refer you to a service closer to home.