An evil father ‘cuddled’ his two children in his caravan as he detonated explosives in a horrific murder-suicide he committed to punish his wife for their marriage breakdown, a coroner has ruled.
Nyobi, seven, and her brother River, four, were killed along with their father Charlie Hinder, 39, when he detonated stolen explosives inside the family caravan in Mount Isa in July 2015.
Coroner Nerida Wilson’s report found that Hinder intended to kill the entire family, including wife Katherine, as an act of spousal revenge, the ABC reported.
Hinder took to Facebook hours before the murder-suicide and told people to feel sorry for them – but not him or his estranged wife.
Charlie Hinder, 39, pictured with his daughter Nyobi, 7 (right) , and son River, 4, (left) before the three died in a caravan explosion in 2015
Hinder took to Facebook hours before he murdered his children and urged people to feel sorry for them – but not him or his estranged wife
‘I guess this world was just not for us. I love my kids more than anything in this world, they would have been great,’ the social media post read, according to The Courier Mail.
‘We all went instantly cuddling each other. Goodbye everybody.’
The father-of-two had been living in a caravan in the front yard of the family property since the couple’s separation two months before the tragedy.
On the morning of the blast, Ms Hinder arrived home from her night shift and was preparing school lunches for the children before collecting them from their father, where they had spent the night.
She was on her way over, but turned back towards the house, deciding it would be better to send a text message rather than disturb the neighbours by knocking on the caravan door.
The explosion went off as she entered the kitchen to get her phone.
Ms Wilson also found the four-to-five kilograms of explosives Hinder used were stolen from underground mines where he worked between 2005 and 2008.
She said he was ‘in immediate proximity to the children … perhaps holding or cuddling them’ as he set of the device, which he had assembled himself.
Hinder lived in the caravan parked outside the family home since the separation. Pictured is the caravan explosion which claimed the lives of he and his two children
The coroner also found that security at the mine between 2005 and 2008 was not enough to prevent the theft of explosives.
The coroner’s report also noted Hinder previously used and stored explosives.
On one occasion, Hinder dropped Katherine off at the side of the road on a late-night drive shortly after the pair started dating in 2005.
Hinder gave her a camera and told her to film in the direction they had just driven after he used a ‘sausage-style’ power-gel explosive to detonate a road sign.
The mining company he worked for reviewed and overhauled its procedures regarding explosives and security in the the wake of the fatal caravan explosion.
The coroner said Hinder was ‘in immediate proximity to the children … perhaps holding or cuddling them’ as he set of the device, which he had assembled himself
The company updated its explosive storage facilities and security measures, including an electronic access entry system and video surveillance.
In her report, Ms Wilson said Ms Hinder showed ‘courage’ and ‘kindness’ following her children’s deaths.
‘It is inescapable that Katherine has lost her precious children in the most shocking of circumstances and that her life is irrevocably changed,’ Ms Wilson said.
She said that Nyobi and River’s deaths were an example of ‘retaliatory filicides’ to punish Katherine after their marriage ended.
Ms Hinder had told police she wanted to leave Hinder for some time but he had threatened her and her family, as well as self-harm, according to Brisbane Times.
Hinder (pictured) also intended to murder his estranged wife, a coroner has ruled
She was forced to take out a domestic violence order on him – which he violated within three weeks of it being issued.
Ms Hinder said her estranged husband had shoved her into the wall – allegedly causing injuries lasting more than a week.
The constable said he could have investigated if the alleged assault had been reported when it occurred.
‘After viewing the body-worn footage, I formed a view that police interactions with Charlie were disproportionately focused on assisting him to avoid contravening the order, rather than invoking the protection it was meant to offer Katherine, Nyobi and River,’ Coroner Wilson wrote.
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