A Western Australian father allegedly removed CCTV cameras and pursued his daughter before smothering his two young children and dying by suicide at a villa in Bali, police say.
Maritime worker Damien John Shaw, 56, of Fremantle, was found dead with his Indonesian-born children, Archie, six, and Laura, four, in their Kuta bungalow at about 10.14am local time on Sunday.
The deaths occurred three days after Shaw’s Indonesian wife left the family home to visit Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, about 1,200km away.
Police said on Tuesday that Shaw and his wife had argued in 2022, around the time their daughter was born, and that their relationship had not been “really harmonious” since then.
“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.
“We observed that the husband intentionally took down the CCTV camera in the living room. The CCTV footage also clearly shows that the daughter was chased.
“At that time, the daughter was seen running away while being chased, repeatedly saying, ‘I love you, Daddy. I love you, Daddy.’
“Perhaps she was frightened because she may have seen her older brother being harmed by his father earlier.”
Damien John Shaw is pictured with his children, Archie, six, and Laura, four. The three were found dead inside their Kuta bungalow at about 10.14am local time on Sunday.
Police said Shaw’s wife, Tessa Yanuar, pictured left, was devastated by the deaths.
Shaw had a son Archie, aged six, and a daughter Laura, aged four (pictured)
The devastating CCTV seen by police captured the events leading up to the children’s 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.’
Following the deaths, all three bodies were taken to Professor Ngoerah Hospital in Denpasar, where autopsies had initially been planned.
However, forensic investigators have now revealed that Shaw’s wife submitted a written statement requesting that no autopsy be conducted.
She 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.’
Shaw’s wife Tessa Yanuar is pictured, right, with relatives on Tuesday
Forensic investigators have now revealed that Shaw’s wife submitted a written statement requesting that no autopsy be conducted
Following the death of Shaw and the children, all three bodies were taken to Professor Ngoerah Hospital in Denpasar
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.
Police said there had been marital tension since 2022, but a statement the wife gave to officers said they had been ‘getting along well’ in the lead-up to the tragedy.
‘According to the wife’s statement, they had not had 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.
A friend of Shaw, who asked not to be identified, said he was a hands-on father who did school pick-ups and drop-offs
Damien John Shaw is pictured swimming with his son, Archie
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.
Another friend earlier told the Mail that Shaw did not seem well when they met up in Kuta ten days before the tragedy.
During that meeting, Shaw told his friend he had been struggling with depression for the last six months after losing his life savings in a failed Japanese real estate deal.
Shaw had also complained about the 45-minute journey from the family’s Legian bungalow, about 4km from Kuta, to his children’s school.
‘I asked him how he was and he started telling me he was ready to pull the pin,’ the friend said, explaining that he understood Shaw to be suicidal.
The friend said he was angry at Shaw for his actions, and disappointed that Shaw had failed to contact him before he decided to kill himself and his children.
‘I begged him not to do anything silly. I told him I was there for him – one call away – and I would come straight to him and he could talk to me,’ the friend said.
‘I told him I didn’t care if he cried, if he needed a hug, he could count on me.’
Shaw’s eyes welled with tears before he left, the friend said. They never spoke again.
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