Jack Edwards died trying to protect his sister from father's gunfire
Jack Edwards' final action was a desperate attempt to protect his little sister from their homicidal father.
Police sources close to the investigation into last week's tragic double homicide at West Pennant Hills said the 15-year-old died trying to shield Jennifer Edwards, 13, from their estranged father John as he shot at them with handguns, which police described as "powerful".
The Herald revealed on Wednesday that Mr Edwards was able to legally obtain a handgun permit and licence at St Mary's Indoor Shooting Centre because he was granted a Commissioner's Permit. He was given the permit despite his answers on a declaration form raising red flags that saw him refused membership at other clubs.
The Normanhurst man, who returned home and killed himself after fatally shooting his two children, was known to police and had in the past been the subject of an AVO, but did not have an "extensive history" of criminal behaviour.
“We don’t have any what we would call contemporary information in recent years,” Detective Superintendent Brett McFadden said last week.
The deadly attack comes as the Australian Bureau of Statistics releases new data showing that approximately one in four NSW prisoners is a family or domestic violence offender.
Of the 12,631 people behind bars in the state, 3030 are either facing a family or domestic violence-related charge or are subject to an apprehended domestic violence order according to the recent statistics.
Domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty, who lost her son Luke when her former husband murdered him at cricket practice, said last week she could empathise with the childrens' mother Olga Edwards.
"Their mother has come home to be greeted with this reality. How the hell do you recover from that?" she asked.
Neighbours who knew Mr Edwards characterised him as "strange" and "unhappy", saying he "never had a kind word" for his children.
“Poor Jack probably copped the brunt of it ... he was very harsh," said one long-term neighbour.
Another neighbour described the breakdown of Mr Edwards' relationship with Olga, some 30 years his junior, as a "real mess".
She said Mr Edwards was “very, very distressed” about the family breakdown, adding he had spoken to several neighbours about suicide before.
“It wouldn’t have surprised me one bit [if he had killed himself].”
The protracted family breakdown before the courts culminated in Olga being given full-time custody of the two teenagers.
She returned home last Thursday to find police and emergency services at her rental property on Hull Road after her ex-husband had killed their two children and had to be treated for shock at the scene.
Accompanied by detectives, she returned to the address they had been renting since she and Mr Edwards split up two years ago after 16 years of marriage.
A GoFundMe page set up for Olga has raised over $21,000 since the fatal shooting.
Support is available by phoning Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800 737 732; Men's Referral Service 1300 766 491; Lifeline 13 11 14.