The distraught father of two boys allegedly stabbed to death by their mother has farewelled his “beautiful little kids just becoming beautiful young men” at a funeral service just a few kilometres from their Blue Mountains home.
Dressed in white and nestled together in a single casket, the brothers Benjamin and Russell Smith were on Wednesday morning carried into St Thomas Aquinas Church in Springwood by their father Nick Smith and three other pallbearers.
Mourners attended the funeral of Benjamin and Russell Smith on Wednesday in Springwood.Credit: Rhett Wyman
In a pre-recorded video eulogy played to hundreds of mourners, Nick Smith didn’t acknowledge their mother Trish Smith, from whom he was separated, or the horrendous circumstances surrounding the deaths of the boys, aged 9 and 11.
“Russell and Bennie, the most amazing boys I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting. You were just the most beautiful souls, beautiful little kids just becoming beautiful young men. Everybody loved you. Everybody adored you,” he said, his voice wavering.
“One of the things the boys always loved was their family. Their immediate family, their extended family, and even tracing their family tree right back. That was something they were very proud of.”
Smith told stories of his sons going camping and fishing with their grandparents, of sitting in their Penrith Panthers members’ seats watching games, and of their love of music – from rappers Post Malone, Childish Gambino and Lil Nas X to indie artists like The Rubens and Imagine Dragons.
Hundreds of mourners farewelled the boys in Springwood, close to their Faulconbridge home in the Blue Mountains.Credit: Rhett Wyman
“You were the only kids at Snoop Dogg, and there were weird looks [but] we had a great time … I promised boys, I’ll be the loudest person, and I’ll be dancing the hardest,” he said.
Smith ended his eulogy with a request to their school friends. The service opened with an anthem from the boys’ school, Our Lady of Nativity Primary School in Lawson.
“You are going to go on and have these amazing lives … but one thing I do ask is, every time you come back to the Blue Mountains … please go visit the boys [and] tell them all the great things you’ve done since you last saw them … Make sure they always live inside all of you.”
Smith discovered his sons’ bodies two weeks ago at their house in Faulconbridge, with his former partner arrested later that day and taken to hospital with self-inflicted injuries. She’s since been charged with Benjamin and Russell’s murders and remains in custody.
A floral tribute to the boys, who were aged 9 and 11.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Father Chris del Rosario said the boys’ father had been “incredibly hard on himself” when the pair met while making preparations for the funeral.
“You should be so proud of yourself … and of these two boys, how wonderful they were,” he said.
Reader Amy Hawkes read a prayer: “For those suffering mental illness. Loving God you will always hear us, especially when we are suffering and vulnerable.”
The service will end with a private burial and a wake at the Penrith Leagues Club.
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