The disturbing family history of a grandfather who killed his wife, daughter and four grandchildren in one of Australia’s worst massacres has been revealed.
Peter Miles, 61, shot dead his grandchildren, Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10 and eight-year-old Kayden, their mother Katrina and his wife Cynda, before turning the gun on himself at the family’s farm in Osmington, Western Australia on May 11, 2018.
The children’s father and Katrina’s ex-husband Aaron Cockman has alleged Miles’ family had a history of violence prior to the mass killing which had drawn the attention of authorities.
Peter Miles (second from left in suit and blue tie) killed his wife, Cynda, (back right), his daughter Katrina Miles (left in red dress) and her four children aged from eight to 13 (pictured left to right Rylan, Kayden, Taye and Ayre) before shooting himself
![Aaron Cockman (pictured in August 2018) has alleged the Miles family had a history of violence - which included the killer grandfather's son taking his own life](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/05/23/09/28733130-8350139-image-a-15_1590223129413.jpg)
Aaron Cockman (pictured in August 2018) has alleged the Miles family had a history of violence – which included the killer grandfather’s son taking his own life
Mr Cockman said Miles’ son took his own life and had previously burned down a shed during a family dispute, according to The Australian.
It is also alleged Miles’s own father had tried to kill him.
The bereaved father claimed Katrina meanwhile – who he broke up with in mid-2014 – had threatened to kill both herself and the children they shared by crashing into a tree.
At the time of the murder-suicide Mr Cockman had been locked in a bitter custody battle over his four children.
On the two-year anniversary of the tragedy, he said Miles had paid about $100,000 in legal fees for his daughter and the litigation had heightened tensions within the family and caused them to ‘spiral out of control’.
It comes as Mr Cockman fights for a public inquest into the murder-suicide, which he said would allow him to speak freely about what happened.
![Miles (centre) is pictured with his four grandchildren, his daughter Katrina (bottom-right)and wife Cynda](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/05/23/09/28733134-8350139-image-a-17_1590223292774.jpg)
Miles (centre) is pictured with his four grandchildren, his daughter Katrina (bottom-right)and wife Cynda
He said an inquest would also highlight how the Family Court of Western Australia played a role in worsening the family conflict in the lead-up to the mass killing.
‘Why would there not be one [inquest] into such an extreme set of murders when there is a clear opportunity that it might illuminate ways to protect future generations of our children?’ he wrote in a letter to the WA Attorney-General.
The murder of Mr Cockman’s family was the worst mass shooting Australia has seen since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania which led to mass gun reform.
A month before his family’s massacre, Mr Cockman was on Facebook accused of stalking and harassing by Katrina but the court allowed supervised visits and he was given favourable reports.
A week before May 11, Mr Cockman went to the cinemas to watch the new Avengers movie with his children and estranged wife.
Katrina home-schooled her four children at the farm after they moved there when her marriage broke up.
![The grisly murder-suicide at a remote farm house (pictured) in Western Australia shocked the nation. It was the worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/05/23/09/28733128-8350139-image-a-16_1590223153206.jpg)
The grisly murder-suicide at a remote farm house (pictured) in Western Australia shocked the nation. It was the worst mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996
Miles bought the farm in 2014 and planned to live a sustainable life with their daughter and grandchildren.
Osmington, about 260km south of Perth, is a 10-minute drive east of the Margaret River township.
The tiny community, which ABS data shows has about 135 residents, mostly consists of farmland properties and vineyards.
![The bereaved father (pictured) is calling for a public inquest into his children's deaths to prevent similar family tragedies](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/05/11/05/13366326-7017331-image-a-37_1557549106048.jpg)
The bereaved father (pictured) is calling for a public inquest into his children’s deaths to prevent similar family tragedies
Mr Cockman said last year all he ever wanted to do was spend time with his children.
‘It was such a big event that it affected not just me and my family but the whole community and to some extent the whole country,’ he wrote to the coroner about the tragedy.
Mr Cockman set-up the aaron4kids foundation, in conjunction with For Kids Sake, which campaigns for support and more mediation before a custody battle is taken before the courts.
Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.