A Western Australian father allegedly removed security cameras before chasing his daughter and smothering his two young children, then ending his own life inside a Bali villa, according to Indonesian police.
Damien John Shaw, a 56-year-old maritime worker from Fremantle, was discovered dead with his Indonesian-born children, six-year-old Archie and four-year-old Laura, at their bungalow in Kuta at approximately 10.14am local time on Sunday.
The suspected murder-suicide occurred three days after Shaw’s Indonesian wife left the family home to visit Jakarta, around 1,200km away.
Denpasar police said on Tuesday that the couple had experienced conflict around the time their daughter was born in 2022, with their relationship reportedly becoming “not really harmonious” from that point onward.
“On September 10, the wife went to Jakarta to meet her parents. After noticing something unusual on the CCTV footage, she reported it to the local neighbourhood head and the owner of the bungalow,” Denpasar Police Chief Senior Commissioner Leonardo D Simatupang said.
Police said footage showed Shaw deliberately removing the CCTV camera in the living room. Investigators also saw the young girl being pursued inside the property.
“At that time, the daughter was seen running away while being chased, repeatedly saying, ‘I love you, Daddy. I love you, Daddy,’” Senior Commissioner Simatupang said.
He said the child may have been terrified after possibly witnessing her older brother being attacked by their father.
Damien John Shaw is pictured with his children, six-year-old Archie and four-year-old Laura
Shaw was found dead with his Indonesian-born children at their Kuta bungalow at about 10.14am local time on Sunday
Damien John Shaw’s children, six-year-old Archie and four-year-old Laura, are pictured
Police said the CCTV footage documented the children’s final moments before their deaths.
“There was initially the sound of a disturbance. It was the sound of the boy screaming,” Senior Commissioner Simatupang said.
“After that, the daughter came out and was chased by her father. The husband caught the child and took her back into the room.”
The bodies of Shaw and the two children were transported to Professor Ngoerah Hospital in Denpasar on Sunday, where post-mortem examinations were carried out.
However, forensic investigators have now revealed that Shaw’s wife had the bodies transferred from the morgue to a Muslim cemetery in Denpasar on Monday where they were buried immediately.
‘The family state that the perpetrators have already died,’ Balinese forensic investigator Dr Henky told media on Tuesday.
‘They think no one can be sued and no one can be brought to justice, so they decided to not perform the autopsy.’
Dr Henky said police could still seek a court order to exhume the bodies and conduct autopsies without the family’s consent if investigators believe it is necessary.
Damien John Shaw (pictured) was found dead with his two children in Bali on Sunday
The deaths of an Australian man and his two children in Bali are being treated as a suspected murder-suicide
Police said here had been marital tension since 2022 but a statement the wife gave to officers said they had been ‘getting along well’ in the run-up to the ordeal.
‘According to the wife’s statement, they had not any arguments recently and their relationship had been fine,’ Senior Commissioner Simatupang said.
‘However, her husband was very emotional and had a high level of anxiety.
‘For example, whenever the children had school homework, he would immediately become anxious.
‘The wife also said that she was puzzled as to why he was unable to overcome or control his anxiety.’
Senior Commissioner Simatupang said the wife confirmed Shaw had experienced suicidal thoughts but ‘had never been evaluated or treated by a psychiatrist’.
A friend of Shaw, who asked not to be identified, said Shaw and Ms Yanuar met on a beach while he was holidaying in Bali, and had been together for several years before Archie was born in 2019.
The friend claimed the relationship later became strained and some friends told the couple to have a break, but Shaw wanted to remain with his family and work on it.
The friend said Shaw was a hands-on father who did school pick-ups and drop-offs.
Shaw had also just finished renovating a villa in Nusa Dua – a luxury resort enclave on Bali’s south-east coast – and he seemed happy with the project’s outcome.
They last saw Shaw a few months ago.
‘He was no different to any other time I saw him – we caught up and had a coffee,’ the friend said.
‘We were pretty good mates. Our boys are the same age, and Damien often came to stay with me with the children.’
The friend claimed Shaw, a former merchant seaman, had previously been a heavy drinker, but had stopped in recent years and begun exercising regularly.
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