Like clockwork they came.
The media outlets who started publishing sympathetic headlines about his past.
The premier who described the murder-suicide as a ‘father and children who lost have lost their lives’.
The social media users who automatically blamed a grieving mother for the actions of the selfish violent man who killed her little children.
Damien John Shaw – from Perth – murdered his six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter in Kuta, Bali on the weekend.
The children’s mother was on a trip to Jakarta.
She heard her daughter say ‘no daddy’ while speaking to him on the phone. Worried for the safety of the children, she contacted her neighbour.
Police found their bodies on Sunday. They have confirmed they are treating their deaths as a double murder-suicide.
When media asked the WA Premier about the deaths, he said: “A father and children who lost have lost their lives”.
This morning, the West Australian is running a story on the domestic violence homicides titled ‘Inside Perth dad’s life before tragic Bali murder-suicide’.
They sent journalists to his home town to speak to neighbours (because neighbours are always authorities on domestic violence killers).
They spoke about the properties his family owns, they reported on the deaths of his family members and we got a quick glimpse at his career.
The Daily Mail provided graphic descriptions of the crime scenes including how the children were found.
In another story the Daily Mail headline reads: ‘Bali murder-suicide dad told me how his world had collapsed and confessed he was ready to ‘pull the pin’. I begged him not to do anything silly – but days later, he smothered his two young kids and killed himself’
It features an interview with a close friend who frames his decision to end the life of two children as the only possible outcome of losing money on a real estate deal.
The coverage of this man’s violent actions reflect those headlines we saw around the murder of Tunchanok Donhomla (Little Cake) earlier this year. The 17-year-old was murdered by another Australian man.
The media narrative should be victim-centred when men kill women and children. We do not need publications eulogising domestic violence killers. Period.
THE NARRATIVE AROUND A MAN WHO MURDERED HIS CHILDREN IS SYMPATHETIC
