Heartbroken mother of Ben Freear addresses inquest into his death

The mother of a Queensland man shot dead by police has shared a heartbreaking account of his death. “There is nothing good about his four children left without a father. His daughter was four when he died.”

Benjamin Anthony Freear, 40, died on December 8, 2019, the day after he opened fire on his partner and her children.

The mother of a man shot dead by police shared a heartbreaking statement in memory of her son after an inquest was held examining the circumstances leading to his death.

Father of four Benjamin Anthony Freear, 40, died on December 8, 2019, the day after he opened fire on his partner and her children.

This week, an inquest was held in Hervey Bay overseen by Coroner Terry Ryan.

Mr Freear’s then-partner Lisa McGregor testified, as well as an officer who investigated the shooting and the officers who responded to the incident.

His mother, Sharon Ah Sam, appeared via videolink, read her statement out to the court.

“I believe an operator present at Ben’s death stated “it’s just a tragic bloody set of circumstances. There’s nothing good about any of it”.

“There was nothing good about a competent and capable rural worker, once the sort of man respected as an iconic Australian bushman, the backbone of the farming economy along with shearers and later miners, suffering a mental breakdown.

Tiaro man Ben Freear: “There is nothing good about his four children left without a father.”

“There was nothing good about Ben suffering pain from years of hard physical work and never finding the help he needed to relieve that pain.

“There was nothing good about Ben self-medicating his pain and depression with alcohol, along with his prescribed medication.

“There was nothing good about Ben feeling at the end of his tether with his life circumstances and finally shooting at one men’s cars and ramming the other.

“There was nothing good about Ben using an old rifle as a farm and hunting tool and using it the night before he died to scare away these people from him.

“There is nothing good about his four children left without a father.

‘HIS DAUGHTER WAS FOUR WHEN HE DIED’

“His daughter was four when he died.

“He delivered her in the car on the way to Chinchilla Hospital.

“He cherished her.

“She will never know the love of her father.

“His youngest son was two when he died.

“He will grow up never having a father, never being taught the farming and rural work skills Ben taught his two older sons.

“There is a grandchild due this year who will never know his grandfather.

Tiaro man Ben Freear was shot and killed by police. Picture Facebook

“A grandchild that just might have given Ben enough hope to carry on.

“There was nothing good about our family having to tell Ben’s 90-year-old grandmother about his death.

“She has a photo of him, her and his daughter on the wall of the room of her nursing home.

“It shows a loving and kind grandson.

“He visited her whenever he could and loved always to bring her a new plant.

“There’s nothing good about his brother losing his best friend and mate in all the would.

“He’s just turned 40, the age Ben was when he died.

“There’s nothing good about his 80-year-old father losing the son he loved, especially in such tragic circumstances.

“There’s nothing good – his two sisters, shock, grief and trauma at having their loved brother killed by police.

“Never to hear his stories again, never to ask for his help, never to hear his chuckle as he tells another yarn.

“Neither one has recovered yet.

“The eldest graduated from her university nursing degree a week after Ben died and has never worked full-time as a nurse in the years since Ben’s death due to trauma and anxiety symptoms.

‘YOUNGEST STILL SUFFERS WITH DEPRESSION’

“The youngest struggles still with depression. They loved their brother.

“There is nothing good about his many friends never being helped by him again.

“All of them now have a Ben-shaped hole in their heart.

“He was such a character and a reliable friend who can never be replaced for them.

“There is nothing good about me, Ben’s mother, losing my eldest son in a tragic bloody set of circumstances.

“I don’t sleep well, I can’t stand to be near police with guns hanging off their hips.

The scene where a man was shot dead by police.

“I’m afraid of them, I get palpitations when I see them.

“I’m a nurse in an Aboriginal community. I need to work with police.

“I constantly have to quieten the questions in my mind.

‘THE WAY BEN DIED WILL NEVER LEAVE ME’

“The way Ben died will never leave me.

“I have a duty of care to my patients, to me there seems to be no duty of care by police to people suffering mental breakdowns.

“There will always be much that will remain a mystery to friends and family but one thing we know is there was nothing good about what happened to Ben on Sunday morning the 8th of December 2019.

“What does remain good for all of us who knew and loved Ben is the 40 years of memories before that day of a loving, curious adventures and yarn-telling boy who aspired to live a self-sufficient life by the work of his own hands.

“A generous and hardworking young man who provided for his family’s needs and was generous with his time and knowledge with friends and neighbours.

“A friend of strangers and those on the margins of society, his best mate at school was a disabled lad he looked out for.

“If Ben couldn’t say a good word about someone, he rarely said a bad.

“We’ll remember his laconic remarks, his chuckles at his own dry wit, his capability on the land and on the water, the feeling of safety we had when he took us out on his boat or out camping.

“Ben was a true Aussie bushman and our memories of him are all we have now.”

Mr Freear’s former wife Mary Freear also submitted a statement to the court.

She said they had been together as teenagers, up until about a year before his death.

‘COMPLEX AND UNIQUE MAN’

Ms Freear spoke of raising their children together and how he had helped deliver his daughter by the side of the road when he they couldn’t make it to hospital.

She described Mr Freear as a “complex and unique man”.

“I want his children to remember the positive and wonderful parts of Ben’s character, and those little things about him too, such as that chocolate mint biscuits and pavlova were his favourite sweets.”

“He was a master with a chainsaw and a Christian who put God first,” she wrote.

“Ben was good at including people and making sure people felt part of the group.

“He used to view himself as a peacemaker and often quashed trouble respectfully and quickly if out in a public venue like a pub.”

Mr Freear was friends with people on the fringes of society and gave his time generously, Ms Freear said.

He was resourceful and knew how to make a meal from the land, she said.

“One year close to Christmas when funds were tight, we lived off wurst and jerky made in a homemade smoker from meat harvested from the land.

“Looking back it was one of the best times of my life and I would give anything to be back down by the river with Ben eating the delicious smoked meats fresh from the smoker.”

Ms Freear said looking at her children, all with brown eyes, reminded her of Mr Freear.

She said her younger children would not remember him.

“I know there is never going to be a time when we go back to living a normal life,” she wrote.

“We will keep pushing on but the pain will go away. Every day we wake up to the harsh reality that Ben is dead.

“There are no do-overs, but we will keep asking the questions we want answers for about his death.

“If Ben’s suffering can change the outcome for the better for other people facing the same issues then his death was not in vain.”

Coroner Terry Ryan thanked Mr Freear’s family members for their contribution to the inquest.