Tanja Ebert death: Devastated family of dead husband Michael Burdon pay tribute amid murder probe
EXCLUSIVE: There were no warning signs of the personal crisis that triggered the presumed murder of young mother Tanja Ebert and the subsequent suicide of her husband, Michael Burdon, his devastated family says.
- Grim Outback search begins for missing Tanja
- How the story developed on Wednesday
- Will Tanja’s body ever be found?
- How a smile hid her secret pain of unhappiness
For help with depression, suicidal thoughts or personal problems, call Lifeline on 13 11 15 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
THERE were no warning signs of the personal crisis that triggered the presumed murder of young mother Tanja Ebert and the subsequent suicide of her husband, Michael Burdon, his devastated family said on Thursday night.
Distraught relatives are reeling after Mr Burdon’s suicide at the couple’s Mid-North grazing property, after the newlywed, 23, was last seen on a family outing in Adelaide nine days ago.
But as they expressed fears over her “bizarre” disappearance, and the subsequent Major Crime murder investigation, they questioned how he was able to access a firearm while police searched his remote sheep station, in the northeast region of the Far North, almost 400km from Adelaide.
An independent inquiry, which will be provided to State Coroner Mark Johns, is investigating the fatal shooting, at 3.03pm on Wednesday, just moments after senior police made a public appeal and revealed the couple’s marital problems.
While detectives had conducted a “lengthy” interview, they said Mr Burdon was not under arrest and senior police say there was, at that point, “no evidence to prove that Michael is responsible for the murder”.
It is understood Mr Burdon, 41, shot himself in his house but not in front of detectives — who were nearby but had momentarily lost sight of him — nor his children or his mother, who had travelled from the Eyre Peninsula to support him.
The couple’s two young sons, aged three and one, are in the care of their grandmother.
As his shocked family paid an emotional tribute to the “lovely couple” and relatives flew in from interstate, The Advertiser has learned it is the second tragedy to hit the grazier family in the past two decades.
Mr Burdon’s younger brother, Mark Ivor, took his life on the 410sq km Oulnina Park Station, 65km east of Yunta, on May 12, 1997. Mr Burdon was distressed by the loss of his close sibling.
His “very distraught” mother, Marlis — whose former husband died from a brain tumour three years ago — and sisters Michelle and Deborah were being comforted at a family home in Adelaide’s inner south on Thursday night and were too distressed to speak publicly.
But speaking on their behalf, a family spokesman told The Advertiser how they were shocked at Ms Ebert’s disappearance and Mr Burdon’s subsequent suicide after their “beautiful” wedding at the station in February.
The spokesman said they had not seen any warning signs that pointed to any marital problems, and were in the dark about her unhappiness in their six-month marriage.
“Everybody is devastated — nobody saw this coming,” he said. “Everyone is fearful about Tanja’s whereabouts. We all loved them. They were really wonderful people. We did not expect anything like this to happen.
“Everyone is supporting each other as best they can. We are all trying to remember the good times — their life, family, wedding,
“They both had a zest for life. They loved their sons and nobody can understand any of this. They were devoted parents. ”
He said the couple loved “station life”, had a passion for food, animals and their children, which capped their four-year relationship after meeting while on her gap year from her native Germany.
He was left to operate the family station — once part of George Brooks empire, one of South Australia’s pioneering pastoralists — after his father Peter Leslie Burdon, 68, died of a brain tumour.
His father, who was “cherished’ by Ms Ebert, died on the family farm in a small cottage separate from the main home on April 3, 2014 — shortly before his grandson was born.
The spokesman said Mr Burdon, who loved fishing, motorbikes and the Outback, spoke of his brother’s death occasionally.