June 30th, 2008, Shelly Walsh, a police officer, left her 2 children, 7-year-old Kevin and 5-year-old Jamie, with her parents so that she could work a late shift in Cowra, Australia. That night her 70-year-old father, John Walsh, killed his wife, Jean Walsh, and 2 grandkids.
Walsh after killing Townsend
Mr. Walsh (Walsh from now on) took a hammer, which he had nicknamed ‘Fred,’ and beat his wife repeatedly before stabbing her and beating her again. He then lured Jamie into the bathroom where he drowned her in the bathtub before placing her back in her bed. Walsh then beat Kevin with the hammer before placing him in the tub to make sure he was dead. He then returned Kevin back to his bed just as he had done with Jamie. Walsh then worried about who would take care of the family dog, so he drowned the dog in the tub and placed it under the children’s bunk bed.
When Shelly Walsh arrived at her parents' home to pick up her children, she went into her parents' bedroom and found her mother lying on the floor. She then went into the room where her children were where Walsh came up behind her and struck her in the head with an axe. She escaped and fled to a neighbor's home for assistance. Walsh fled to Central West but was arrested the next morning when he went out to get milk for his breakfast. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to 2 life sentences and 27 years.
Almost a decade later in January of 2017 Walsh killed his cellmate, Frank Townsend. He allegedly hit Townsend with a sandwich press (panini maker for Americans) wrapped in a pillowcase. Walsh was given another life sentence for the murder. He said that he doesn’t work in anger. He works in tactical cold rage.
“[Shelly Walsh] has managed to pick up the piece of her life with her partner Denise and the pair now live in Goulburn. She remains haunted by the loss of her mother and children, tortured by the belief she didn’t do enough to keep them safe. ‘That was my mum, but more so my babies. It was my job to protect them and I wasn’t there’” (O’Neill).
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