A couple killed their two severely autistic teenage sons and the family’s pets before ending their own lives in a quadruple murder-suicide that has devastated a Perth community.
Jarrod Clune, 50, and Maiwenna Goasdoue, 49, were found dead alongside their sons Leon, 16, and Otis, 14, at the family home in the affluent suburb of Mosman Park on Friday morning. The family’s two dogs and a cat were also found deceased at the property.
Police confirmed the tragedy was a murder-suicide after discovering notes at the scene indicating the parents had made plans to end their lives and those of their children. A second letter found on Saturday reportedly outlined the couple’s intentions and included arrangements for the family’s finances.
Emergency services were alerted at 8.15am by a care worker who regularly visited the boys but had been unable to contact the family. The care worker discovered a chilling note at the home warning against entering the property and instructing them to call police immediately.
Officers located all four family members dead in different areas of the residence. According to police, the deaths did not appear violent in nature and no weapons were used in the incident.
Both teenage boys had severe, non-verbal autism and faced “significant health challenges” according to investigators. Police believe the family had lost government funding to support one of the boys’ disability needs prior to the tragedy.
Detective Acting Inspector Jessica Securo confirmed there was no history of “reported family violence matters with police” involving the family. “This is a tragic and devastating incident where a family has lost their lives, and the impact will be felt by the entire community,” she stated.
The boys and their father had previously been students at Christ Church Grammar, a prestigious private boys’ school in Perth’s western suburbs. Otis had been expelled from the school two years earlier over a spitting incident, according to reports.
A teacher familiar with one of the boys revealed to the daily mail that someone at the school had described him as a “monster” to his exhausted mother. The educator stated the parents appeared loving and dedicated but would have been extremely sleep-deprived, as the boys never slept at night and would often nap during school hours.
According to the teacher, the parents pursued every available option to support their sons, including taking them to therapy and seeking professional help as far away as Sydney.
Maddie Page, who served as an autism mentor for the boys, expressed devastation on Facebook following the discovery. “My heart feels unbearably heavy knowing that the NDIS system failed them, and that they were made to feel they had no other choice,” she wrote.
Page described the parents as “their biggest, fiercest supporters” and said the boys had taught her “to think outside the box when it came to working with autism and reminded me that communication is so much more than words.”
Family and friends have continued sharing heartfelt tributes on social media in the aftermath of the tragedy. Western Australia Police have not announced whether additional investigative measures will be undertaken as the case remains under examination.
