Abusive Father 'Meticulously' Planned Murder Of Teenage Kids Who Lived With Ex-Wife

A 67-year-old father "carefully and meticulously" planned the murder of his teenage children for months, before finally shooting them dead at their home, an Australian court has heard Wednesday.

New South Wales State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan said the accused John Edwards may have decided to murder his children "at or about the same time acrimonious family law proceedings between John and wife Olga ended on Valentine’s Day in 2018," media outlet Perth Now reported.

O’Sullivan said Edwards began enacting his plans on June 25, 2018, when he booked a nondescript white sedan from a rental store, which he knew his children won't recognize. The next day, he contacted an IT technician to clear information from his laptop and hard drive.

He picked up the car on July 2 and wiped his devices on July 3. The next day, he collected his two handguns from his locker, Perth Now reported.

On July 5, Edwards stalked his daughter, 13-year-old Jennifer, as she walked home from school. After she opened the door to the family's new home, where they had been hiding since their mother commenced family court proceedings against the accused, Edwards emerged from the rental car.

A terrified Jennifer then ran down the hallway to find her brother Jack, 15, but Edwards chased her and began shooting at the children as they tried to hide from him under a desk.

The inquest heard Edwards emptied two rounds of bullets, leaving the children with horrific injuries. The coroner said Jack tried to use his body to shield Jennifer, but failed, News.com reported.

An hour later, Edwards killed himself at his home in nearby Normanhurst with another gun.

The inquest also heard how the accused spent more than two decades physically and psychologically abusing his partners and children. His other adult children had earlier testified against him.

The coroner's voice shook with emotion as she blamed NSW Police, the Family Court and the state’s firearm registry.

“It is difficult to imagine the pain that Olga felt when she returned home that night. To find police at her home and learn that her two children, who she loved dearly, had been killed,” O’Sullivan said, News.com reported.

Olga killed herself five months later, aged 37.

O'Sullivan blamed the NSW’s firearms registry for its “complete failure to recognize a history of domestic violence going back 24 years.”

“Had they adequately analyzed the information readily available, they would’ve had no choice but to refuse his firearm applications,” O’Sullivan said.