‘Just Say Goodbye’ (January 2013 online edition)

‘Just Say Goodbye’It appears that Dean Williamson’s primary motive in killing his child wasto punish the mother in relation to their separation. Justice Cummins, insentencing Dean Williamson, said ‘yours is not a case of a history of violentbehaviour; rather it is a history of jealousy, then resentment, and then hatesinking in to the darkness of the intention you ultimately formed’. 96 He said‘the crime was committed with full deliberation and because of emotion. Theemotion was hate.’ 97Using children to hurt partnersIn Dean Williamson’s case, as in the cases of Arthur Freeman and RobertFarquharson, above, the perpetrators each allegedly told someone of theirintention to hurt the mother. Robert Farquharson and Dean Williamsonallegedly told others of their specific intention to kill the children in order toachieve this aim. But the people they told did not appear to believe them.Ramazan Acar, Dean Williamson and Robert Farquharson each expressedthe idea that killing the children would be an optimal way to hurt their mother.Ramazan Acar told his ex-partner ‘I killed her to get back at you … Even if Igo behind bars, I know you are suffering’. Dean Williamson said that killing hischild and himself would be a ‘better way to fuck her [his ex-partner’s] life’ thanhis previous idea of directly killing her. Similarly, Robert Farquharson’s friendsaid that Robert told him he would pay his ex-wife back by taking what wasmost important to her and that he wanted her to ‘suffer for the rest of her life’.The notion that killing the child is a greater punishment than killing themother herself, was also strikingly evident in a case that occurred in WesternAustralia in the mid 1990s. Norman O’Neill left a window ajar at his ex-partner’shouse when he collected the children for an access visit. That night, he brokeinto the house through the window and went into the bedroom where themother was sleeping with her two children. He shot both the children in thechest with a pump-action shotgun. He then shot their mother in the leg andcalmly said to her, ‘now you can call the police’. He then shot himself. A policeofficer investigating the deaths said, ‘He knew when he killed himself that shewas still alive. He knew that she was going to live the rest of her life, not onlymaimed, but without her two children’ (Australian Story 2004).These cases provide support for the contention that the primary target insome filicides by fathers is the ex-partner and the children become ‘pawns in theprocess’ (Liem & Koenraadt 2008:172). In some cases, such as Arthur Freeman96 DPP v Williamson [2000] VSC 115 (para 17).97 DPP v Williamson [2000] VSC 115 (para 23).57