Inquest begins into the deaths of WA mother Heather Glendinning and daughters Jane and Jessica

THE gruesome scene left even the most experienced police officers shaken. A mum and her two daughters, all dead.

THE gruesome scene left even the most experienced police officers shaken.

And the manner of the deaths of two small girls, Jane, 12, and Jessica Cuzens, 10, and their mother Heather Glendinning, was so horrific not even the inquest into the deaths will dwell on it.

It was December 2011 and Ms Glendinning’s mother Hazel called into see her daughter and grandchildren at their Port Denison, Western Australia, home.

She had to rip off a window fly screen to get into the locked house and walked into the nightmarish scene. They were all dead.

Police initially couldn’t rule out a third party being involved, but eventually ruled it was double murder and suicide. Officers said it was one of the worst death scenes they had ever come across.

In her opening address on Monday, counsel assisting the coroner Kate Ellson said the inquest would not examine how the trio died, but would determine whether anything could have prevented their deaths.

“The scene, and the manner in which the deceased died, can only be described as horrific, and it is not my intention, nor the purpose of this inquest, to examine them in any detail,” Ms Ellson said.

The inquest heard Ms Glendinning met her ex-partner Harley Cuzens in 1996 and they had three children together, including Jessica and Jane, before separating in 2001 and becoming embroiled in a custody battle.

Ms Ellson said the pair were involved in “prolonged and complex legal proceedings, sullied by high levels of conflict”.

Jessica, 10, and Jane Cuzens, 12, who were murdered in Port Denison in December 2011.

During that time, Ms Glendinning exhibited obvious signs of increasing stress and medical professionals noted their concerns for her mental wellbeing, although there were no documented comprehensive mental health assessments.

“It appears Ms Glendinning did not seek help because she thought it would be used against her in her efforts to maintain contact with her children,” Ms Ellson said.

The inquest heard that between 2007 and 2011, there were several opportunities where further or different mental health care options could have been explored through the Family Court, Geraldton Mental Health Services, and friends and family.

“Bearing in mind it was for Ms Glendinning alone to choose to co-operate and be truthful with people, this inquest will attempt to explore whether any intervention by medical services may have changed the outcome for her and her children,” Ms Ellson said.

Jane and Jessica Cuzens.

Mr Cuzens, who is a livestock manager at Broome, told the inquest Ms Glendinning started using marijuana early in their relationship which led to mental health problems.

It was as if all the bad things associated with marijuana use came true for her, he said. She couldn’t cope with everyday life and everything became a struggle, including the children, reported the ABC.

“Everything you read about what happens to people who use marijuana happened to her.”

“Erratic behaviour, psychosis, paranoia, schizophrenia. This made her impossible to live with.

“She wasn’t coping at all at home, she couldn’t cope with the children, she couldn’t cope with anything.”

Her increasingly unstable behaviour put pressure on their relationship and led him to believe their children would be better with him than her, reported Perth Now.

Harley Cuzens, the father of murdered girls Jessica and Jane Cuzens. Picture: Kate Campbell

The couple were locked in a lengthy custody battle. They were also fighting over their assets.

Gary Renwick, a former boyfriend of Ms Glendinning, told the inquest she was smoking between two and four marijuana joints a day in the weeks leading up to her death and was “totally consumed” by the court case.

He’d noticed she’d become paranoid and revealed she’d even started sleeping with a knife under her bed.

But he didn’t think she was a danger to anyone. “I thought she was using it for protection.”

The inquest has also heard evidence of her delusions extended to her belief a paedophile ring was operating involving political and business leaders.

She’d also accused Mr Renwick of spying on her on her former husband’s behalf and told him Jessica was being abused by the paedophile ring.

The inquest continues.

* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Originally published as Inquest begins into the deaths of WA mother Heather Glendinning and daughters Jane and Jessica