MOTHER WATCHED IN HORROR AS FATHER CHASED 4-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER BEFORE BALI DOUBLE MURDER-SUICIDE

A mother desperately watching her home’s CCTV from hundreds of miles away witnessed a horrifying final moment involving her young daughter — after hearing the child crying during a phone call with her husband.

Police in Bali say Australian father Damien John Shaw, 56, killed his two children before taking his own life at the family’s rented bungalow in Kuta earlier this month.

The children, Archie, 6, and Laura, 4, were found dead inside the property on September 13. Indonesian authorities have described the deaths as a suspected double murder-suicide.

MOTHER HEARD HER DAUGHTER CRYING

The children’s mother was away in Jakarta when she became concerned about what was happening at the family home.

According to police and Australian media reports, she was speaking with Shaw on the phone when the call suddenly disconnected.

She said she could hear her daughter crying before the call ended.

Worried about her children, she contacted someone near the property and asked for a welfare check.

At the same time, she accessed the home’s CCTV system from her phone.

But what she saw was devastating.

SHE WATCHED AS HER DAUGHTER RAN FROM HER FATHER

The CCTV camera had initially been pointed downward, preventing the mother from seeing what was happening clearly.

Police said she adjusted the camera remotely.

She then saw Shaw chasing Laura around the house.

According to police, the little girl was crying out:

“I love you, Daddy.”

Investigators believe Laura may have witnessed what had happened to her older brother and attempted to escape.

Bali police spokesman Senior Commissioner Ariasandy said investigators believed Archie was likely already dead when Laura ran from the room.

“It looks like he did it first to the son, and because [Laura] saw that, she was trying to escape,” Ariasandy said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Police said CCTV footage captured the children screaming during the incident.

A WORKER FOUND THE THREE BODIES

After being asked to check the property, a worker went to the bungalow.

He discovered the bodies of Archie, Laura and Shaw.

Indonesian police said the two children had suffered fatal violence, while Shaw died by suicide.

ABC News reported that authorities found no indication of another perpetrator on the CCTV footage.

A local report said Laura’s body was found on top of her brother’s.

Authorities later returned the bodies to the family after forensic examinations.

POLICE INVESTIGATION

The children’s mother requested that no full autopsy be carried out on the two children.

Police said preliminary external examinations showed signs of violence, including injuries around the children’s necks.

Shaw’s death was examined separately, with forensic findings reported as consistent with hanging.

Police have said they were reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence as they reconstructed the final hours inside the property.

Because Shaw was believed to be responsible for the children’s deaths and was himself dead, Denpasar police subsequently indicated that they were preparing to formally close the criminal case concerning the suspected killings.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS LEFT IN SHOCK

Friends of Shaw said they were struggling to understand what had happened.

One friend told ABC News that she had seen Shaw in Bali only a few months earlier and noticed that he looked markedly different from the man she knew.

The couple’s relationship had also reportedly experienced difficulties.

Police said the children’s mother had previously filed for divorce in 2022, citing concerns about Shaw’s temperament, but later withdrew the case after she believed the situation had improved.

A friend also told Australian media that Shaw had recently experienced financial difficulties.

However, police have not publicly established a definitive motive, and reports about his financial situation or emotional state should not be treated as a confirmed explanation for the killings.

TWO CHILDREN REMEMBERED

Neighbors described Archie and Laura as kind and cute children.

Their deaths have left their mother and extended family facing an unimaginable loss.

The case has also drawn attention because the children’s mother was not physically at the home when the tragedy unfolded — yet was able to see part of what was happening through the family’s CCTV system.

For investigators, that footage has become a crucial piece of evidence in reconstructing the children’s final moments.

For their mother, however, it captured something far more painful: the final moments of her young daughter running from her father while calling out that she loved him.

Archie was six.

Laura was four.

And both children are now at the center of a tragedy that continues to shock their family, friends and the Bali community.