Australia - 7 dead in mass shooting and suicide - Osmington WA - 11 May 2018

[Trooper]

In some ways, it explains the ... well. what I call odd, to say the least, .the odd way the police are handling Cockman, and his story, claims and ventings.... with a stiff upper lip , it seemed to me...

 

[they'll get you]

TGY - I do think maybe the grandad was depressed. He most likely never got over the other sons death. Not the way though absolutely shocking.
( I also love your posts you always make me giggle loudly)
ETA - Sorrell above post about he grandfather committing the ultimate betrayal is so well stated. Sad but very selfish man. I have lost people to suicide and they would never have taken anyone with them. It was their own dark pain.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Even a large nest egg doesn’t last with 7 mouths to feed. Aaron said he had a few hundred in the bank, $200,000 won’t get you anywhere for too long and maybe Aaron was arrogant enough to think he took them so he can pay their way.
I wonder if he was paying maintenance. If he was self employed he could have been working for cash and not declared it.
I think Peter was worried about everyones future.

So many scenarios.

I guess you can’t explain stupid.
Stupid is what stupid does Forest.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Jennifer17]

and if it was his place, who supervised the visit? his family?... the laughers who found the whole thing so darn funny they had tears in their eyes?
---------
anyway... this I found in the JUST IN section of the ABC WA news


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-...hooting-sinking-in-for-margaret-river/9758398


Police say it will be months before they can confirm exactly who was responsible for the deaths.

The children's father Aaron Cockman has laid the blame squarely on his former father-in-law.

Mr Cockman says Peter Miles shot and killed his wife, Cynda, his daughter, Katrina, and her four children, before turning the gun on himself.


Bolded by me for emphasis..

well.. that really is the first time I can recall that kind of open ended statement about whosoever the shooter is by the police..

Unless this has been reported inaccurately, this statement is a real eye opener for me, and to me..

Actually, AC did not place the blame on Peter, the police did.

 

[symbah]

Something other than that from AC.
A statement from other family members.

http://www.news.com.au/national/sev...y/news-story/d089498f79d01072301d140b8dbf7119

Extended family members who are in shock over the tragic event, say they are “still trying to understand how this could happen”
In a statement released on Saturday afternoon, the family said: “We are devastated by this shocking event,” the statement read.
“We are stunned and still trying to understand how this could happen.
“We respectfully ask that the community refrain from speculating on the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.
“We thank the community for their support and ask that our privacy is respected as we grieve.”

 

[they'll get you]

I am sure that everyone thinks that he is a weirdo. I cannot understand how she stayed with him long enough to have four children.

I’m sure Peter thought the same thing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[antechinusRAWR]

Yes I found this bit disturbing also:

"[FONT=&]All my family has stayed strong and I know they will. We were all sitting around last night and it was not all tears and crying and that it was all laughing and happy and joking around and so much joking around.[/FONT][FONT=&]I had nearly tears in my eyes from laughing so much."

"[/FONT][FONT="]I think it is funny. I lost four kids. It is not like I don’t care any more but bring it on, let’s have a party."

???[/FONT]

Just in case that "let's have a party" quote is being read differently outside Australia, that section is actually a pretty aggressive & sarcastic response to a journalist who asked questions that seemed to hit a nerve - specifically, the suggestion AC might find speaking to media intimidating, whether AC felt victimised by having time with his kids restricted & whether the rumours circulating after the murders had affected AC :

https://thewest.com.au/news/wa/marg...ony-at-losing-his-four-children-ng-b88834523z

Journalist: It takes a lot of courage for you to be here, this is very intimidating. Can I ask if you felt victimised about not being able to see your kids? And did you feel victimised by vile rumours that you had anything to do with this?

I think it is funny. I lost four kids. It is not like I don’t care any more but bring it on, let’s have a party. You guys say what you want to ask, I don’t care any more, I’ve lost everything.

I’ve got my family but my family they are fine and they have always been fine. Yeah, I don’t want to lose them but I have lost everything in my life. So, you want to ask dumb questions I’m going to answer, you want to ask really good questions I will answer.

Victimised? Whatever. People’s opinions? Whatever. I’ve got an independent psychologist’s report, about 25 pages or something like that. I want everyone to see it, I want everyone to read it. That is my life story. And I will get it out there somehow. The correct way to do it? I’m not sure. I will be informed, I suppose.

But I would love to have 10 or 20 copies here now and give them all out to you.

Originally when I got that report I was so happy to see my kids again. That report let me get my kids again and I just want to do an aeroplane drop with thousands of them all over Margaret River so everyone could see. Accusations that I was abusive and all that. Not to prove that I wasn’t abusive and that. So the kids can keep living a normal life and getting it out there the kids cannot just think Dad was abusive because Dad says he was and they can’t actually remember the occasion when I was abusive.

Re the discussions about PM being coerced to make the call, IF there was an 8th person there that morning, it's possible PM died first, not last - he would've been the biggest threat to an intruder.
& I think I mentioned this in my first post in this thread, but if the shooter was a male who knew the family's names & address, it wouldn't be too difficult to impersonate the grandfather on the ph - initially anyway.

It's also entirely possible that the entire crime ended when the neighbours heard the last shots at 4am, then someone else came to the property later, stumbled on the scene at 5am & called it in - I hope not though. It took a long time for police to arrive & I can't imagine how horrifying it would've been to wait there amidst all that horror & carnage.



AC, who seems to have difficulty making short, concise statements, made a point of discussing the call & pointing out it's 2 minute length. He shared his theory re why the grandfather would murder the entire family before committing suicide & then went on to add that he's certain his theory will be reflected in the content of the 000 call.

Be interesting to see if his prediction comes true, considering he apparently hasn't spoken to PM for years & could only guess at his recent frame of mind.

"He’s sent a triple-0 call, made a two-minute call or something which in that call he would have been saying, I’m guessing about not being able to handle it if something happened to Neil.

I’m sure that’s in the call. There is two minutes of it. Someday I might to listen to it, someday I might not want to even listen to it. But I don’t even know if I will go out into the farm past the gate, I still have to think about that.

Interesting too that he seems to sometimes be giving people the impression he's never been to the property, & other times makes a point of saying he's never been past the gate.

According to Kat though, he spent quite a bit of time lurking along the property line at night - makes me wonder if grandad might've been in the habit of sitting on the verandah with a gun to keep watch & protect his family. That'd wear you down pretty quickly. If he did have to do that, it wouldn't surprise me if he fell into a deep sleep out there sometimes.

 

[Jennifer17]

I’m sure Peter thought the same thing.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I kind of think that they were the same kind of men. Trying to exert control. I know that Katrina's parents thought that they were doing the right thing by her, but she was an adult woman with four children. She married a *advertiser censored*. That is obvious to anyone. Her parent's could have helped and supported her without uprooting their own lives to make it right for her. I think all the players in this awful situation weird, including the adult victims. Not the children.

 

[they'll get you]

and if it was his place, who supervised the visit? his family?... the laughers who found the whole thing so darn funny they had tears in their eyes?
---------
anyway... this I found in the JUST IN section of the ABC WA news


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-...hooting-sinking-in-for-margaret-river/9758398


Police say it will be months before they can confirm exactly who was responsible for the deaths.

The children's father Aaron Cockman has laid the blame squarely on his former father-in-law.

Mr Cockman says Peter Miles shot and killed his wife, Cynda, his daughter, Katrina, and her four children, before turning the gun on himself.


Bolded by me for emphasis..

well.. that really is the first time I can recall that kind of open ended statement about whosoever the shooter is by the police..

Unless this has been reported inaccurately, this statement is a real eye opener for me, and to me..

There is hope.

https://goo.gl/images/SuiCqY


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[coops]

I’m really confused why there is talk about grandpa not being the killer. Police have said six homicide victims, a suicide and they are not looking for anyone else. I would hate to be the dad or other family reading here and seeing some of these accusations based on the response of a man who has just lost all his kids. Making weird comments does not make you a murderer. Reading these accusations takes the horror and absolute disgust toward the grandpa away which is where those feelings should be.

Just moo but he has been cleared by police.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Don’t the police sometimes and strategically make certain statements in the media even though, they know who the real perpetrator is?? I personally think the husband is going to be charged with this crime.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Trooper]

Don’t the police sometimes and strategically make certain statements in the media even though, they know who the real perpetrator is?? I personally think the husband is going to be charged with this crime.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm right out there on that wobbling branch with you, Coops.. I can't see it turning out any other way, and it certainly appears to me that the police are encouraging Cockman to run his mouth off as much as he wants as each time he does he gets just a little bit more daring and more , dare I say it, cocky about himself, more disparaging about his wife, less interested in his kids, and more anxious to mansplain every thing about Peter and nothin about himself..

 

[Jennifer17]

Don’t the police sometimes and strategically make certain statements in the media even though, they know who the real perpetrator is?? I personally think the husband is going to be charged with this crime.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

No, I have seen police say that the obvious suspect was not under suspicion when they were suspecting him, but I have never seen them name someone else for the murder.

 

[they'll get you]

Don’t the police sometimes and strategically make certain statements in the media even though, they know who the real perpetrator is?? I personally think the husband is going to be charged with this crime.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yay more hope.
https://goo.gl/images/se33zB



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[antechinusRAWR]

Actually, AC did not place the blame on Peter, the police did.

I haven't seen WApol actually say that. They've said stuff like "six murdered & another deceased at the scene" & they've also said stuff like "we're not seeking any other persons in relation to this matter" (paraphrasing from memory, not exact quotes).

The early police statements definitely caused a lot of people, including some journalists (& sometimes me), to assume that meant PM was the perpetrator, but I haven't seen a police quote yet saying it was definitely a murder/suicide & PM has definitely been confirmed as the killer. Most of their statements have been pretty ambiguous really.

& in any case, even if early on WApol had made unequivocal statements about PM being responsible, if, as of 3 hours ago, the ABC has started quoting them saying it'll be months before they know who the shooter was for certain, then it seems WApol must've decided things aren't as clear as they looked on the morning the crime scene was discovered.

 

[afajag]

I haven't seen WApol actually say that. They've said stuff like "six murdered & another deceased at the scene" & they've also said stuff like "we're not seeking any other persons in relation to this matter" (paraphrasing from memory, not exact quotes).

The early police statements definitely caused a lot of people, including some journalists (& sometimes me), to assume that meant PM was the perpetrator, but I haven't seen a police quote yet saying it was definitely a murder/suicide & PM has definitely been confirmed as the killer. Most of their statements have been pretty ambiguous really.

& in any case, even if early on WApol had made unequivocal statements about PM being responsible, if, as of 3 hours ago, the ABC has started quoting them saying it'll be months before they know who the shooter was for certain, then it seems WApol must've decided things aren't as clear as they looked on the morning the crime scene was discovered.

Actually WApol said murder suicide since day 1. So they may not have named PM, but they were saying someone deceased at the scene did it.

 

[Elley Mae]

I’m really confused why there is talk about grandpa not being the killer. Police have said six homicide victims, a suicide and they are not looking for anyone else. I would hate to be the dad or other family reading here and seeing some of these accusations based on the response of a man who has just lost all his kids. Making weird comments does not make you a murderer. Reading these accusations takes the horror and absolute disgust toward the grandpa away which is where those feelings should be.

Just moo but he has been cleared by police.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don’t know. Maybe for some it’s too hard to imagine a Grandfather doing this and because Katrina had referenced being stalked in town when it appears the dad was being denied visitation.

I have not seen anything about Katrina having a job. Just that the kids were homeschooled. So it seems that Grand dad was the bank. I can’t imagine that burden, 5 more mouths to feed when he was ready to retire and relax yet he is posting adds looking for work. That is a shame. Having to convert a shed to living quarters for daughter and 4 kids.

 

[Elley Mae]

A grandfather's "sense of failure" at being unable to provide for his family may have led him to murder them then take his own life at a rural property in Western Australia.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/wa...funeral-plans-for-dead-children-ng-b88835970z

Friends say Mr Miles "couldn't look after his family" and felt a "sense of failure".

Mr Miles was facing financial problems and looking for work, posting an advertisement on Gumtree offering farm maintenance and welcoming small jobs on his business card.

Neighbour Neil Garnett told AAP on Monday it seemed Mr Miles had been planning the massacre but was clearly not thinking straight.

"He wasn't some maniac going mad, randomly killing people. It was just a very sad story," he said.

 

[Jennifer17]

I don’t know. Maybe for some it’s too hard to imagine a Grandfather doing this and because Katrina had referenced being stalked in town when it appears the dad was being denied visitation.

I have not seen anything about Katrina having a job. Just that the kids were homeschooled. So it seems that Grand dad was the bank. I can’t imagine that burden, 5 more mouths to feed when he was ready to retire and relax yet he is posting adds looking for work. That is a shame. Having to convert a shed to living quarters for daughter and 4 kids.

Katrina would have been getting plenty of government benefits for her kids if the idiot dad could not contribute, and sheds in Australia are huge things that you can have four bedroom, two bathrooms in.

 

[antechinusRAWR]

Actually WApol said murder suicide since day 1. So they may not have named PM, but they were saying someone deceased at the scene did it.

Yeah, I've definitely seen multiple journalists reporting that it was a murder/suicide, I just haven't seen it spoken by a WApol rep.

But like I said, as of three hours ago the ABC were quoting police saying it'll be months before they know who the perpetrator was, so either way, for some reason the the police statements & reporting are a lot less certain today than they were days ago.

I don't recall a change like this happening in the Hunt Family murder/suicide in NSW? I could've missed it though I guess

 

[Elley Mae]

Aaron Cockman, father of the dead children and the estranged husband of their mother, told reporters on Sunday that police had told him Peter Miles had shot dead Mr Cockman’s family as they slept in a converted shed where they lived before killing his wife in the living room of their house.

Peter Miles then called police before dawn on Friday. He had turned a gun on himself before police arrived, Mr Cockman said.

Mr Cockman said Peter Miles had struggled with the suicide of a son and news that another son had serious kidney disease.

https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/...ing-six-family-members-in-australia-shooting/

 

[Elley Mae]

Katrina would have been getting plenty of government benefits for her kids if the idiot dad could not contribute, and sheds in Australia are huge things that you can have four bedroom, two bathrooms in.

Is there a link to 4 bedrooms in this converted shed?