Father Holding Baby Girl Falls 118 Feet to Their Deaths—Witnesses Had Tried to Help
A dad fell 118 feet to his death at an Australian tourist attraction while he held onto his 9-month-old daughter in a suspected murder-suicide, according to police.
Emergency services raced to the Whispering Wall tourist attraction in South Australia's Barossa Valley on Wednesday afternoon after they were alerted by witnesses.
When they arrived at 4:30 p.m. officers and paramedics found 38-year-old Henry Shepherdson had died and his 9-month-old daughter Kobi had suffered serious injuries.
Police performed CPR on Kobi, but were unable to save her life. Investigators later said the 118-foot fall was a suspected murder-suicide.
Kobi had been in a child carrier when Shepherdson fell from the Whispering Wall, which is located north of the city of Adelaide.
A statement on the South Australia Police (SAP) Facebook page read: "Barossa Police are investigating what is suspected to be a tragic murder/suicide at Williamstown yesterday evening."
It continued: "When patrols arrived they found a deceased man and an infant girl who was unresponsive, being assisted and given CPR by members of the public. Paramedics arrived and continued CPR on the little girl but sadly, she died at the scene.
"Detectives from Barossa CIB and Major Crime Investigation Branch, along with forensic crime scene investigators attended the scene to examine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
"Although a formal identification has not yet been completed police believe the man to be Henry Shepherdson aged 38 and his daughter Kobi Shepherdson aged nine months from the Western Suburbs."
Investigators added that there was a history of domestic violence between Henry Shepherdson and Kobi's mother. Officers added they were not looking for anyone else in connection to the deaths.
They added Shepherdson had "lawful access" to Kobi and that she was not abducted.
People who witnessed the fall and tried to help Kobi are being supported by officers, police said in the statement .
Kobi's mother shared pictures of her daughter with the police, which were then shared on the SAP website.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was a "terrible event."
According to 9News, he said: "My response is one of profound sorrow. Like it would be for all Australians. These are horrific and sadly their not the first of these sorts of terrible and awful events that have taken place.
"It is truly awful. And my heart is profoundly sad at this terrible event and of the impact on the families that are involved, the friends, the trauma of this will be unspeakable.
"And we must continue to just further our efforts to do all we can in these circumstances."
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.
