❤️HIS NAME IS ROWAN ROOME!❤️
“He might have grown up to be extraordinary.”
Just days after her son’s murder, Dr Sophie Roome received a letter penned by her former husband. In it he outlined his plan to end her son’s life and his own.
Rowan Roome was killed by his father James Harrison on May 19, 2024 at East Lismore, New South Wales. Rowan was only two years old.
An inquest has just been held into Rowan and Harrison’s deaths.
A photo of the little boy with the smiling face and blonde curls sat on the bench beside State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan as she heard evidence from police and Rowan’s family, the ABC reports.
On the last day, Harrison was to return Rowan to his mum but he failed to show up.
Dr Roome and Rowan’s father separated in 2023. The inquest heard Harrison was controlling, inflexible and a perfectionist who tried to ‘dictate’ how Dr Roome parented her son.
The inquest heard despite all of this there had been ‘no sign he was capable of such violence’ and so there were no concerns about Rowan’s safety.
When Harrison failed to bring Rowan back to her, Dr Roome assumed he had taken off with her son.
Police were sent to the property to check on Rowan. They found Harrison’s shoes and car outside of the unit but there was no response to their knocks. Officers left.
Police returned some hours later after receiving a “cumulation of information” that meant they would use force to break into the unit.
They found Rowan and Harrison dead. The inquest heard they likely died before the initial police contact.
The court also heard Harrison sent letters to Dr Roome and Rowan’s maternal grandmother, sending them at such a time that they would arrive after he killed the little boy.
“They were delivered in a way to ensure they were delivered after the bodies were discovered,” Counsel assisting the coroner Donna Ward said.
Dr Roome spoke of her family’s heartbreak and trauma, telling the coroner her son ‘might have grown up to be extraordinary’.
“He had the right to so much more,” Dr Roome said.
“Losing Rowan was the greatest horror and pain I and my family will ever know.
“I will never recover from losing Rowan.
“None of our lives will ever be the same.”
ROWAN ROOME MATTERS! ❤️
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