Davidson deaths: ‘Gassed’ boy’s unique art

MARTIN Manrique’s imagination was bursting with colour. The only thing the 10-year-old with autism loved as much as a cuddle was his paintbrush.

• Mum wanted to leave Australia and return to Colombia
• Family gassed in suspected murder suicide
• Davidson deaths: Was it all too much for tragic parents?
• Husband, wife found shot dead in second apparent murder-suicide

MARTIN Manrique’s imagination was bursting with colour.

The only thing the 10-year-old with autism loved as much as a cuddle was his paintbrush.

Like his older sister Elisa, who also had autism, Martin ­expressed through paint what he couldn’t in words.

Maria Claudia Lutz Pena and children Martin and Elisa. Picture: Facebook

And his beautiful mind leaves a lasting impression in these paintings released by his teachers at St Lucy’s Catholic School.

“He was a prolific painter and a very gifted artist; that was how he communicated, through his art,” deputy principal Susan Jones said yesterday.

The Wahroonga school is planning an exhibition of Martin and 11-year-old Elisa’s artwork as a poignant tribute to the youngest victims of Monday’s family tragedy, which police are treating as a murder-suicide.

One of Martin’s artworks.

Some of the young boy’s art displayed at St Lucy’s.

It was the school that alerted police when neither the two children nor their mother, Maria Claudia Lutz, 43, who worked in the canteen, arrived on Monday morning. They were found dead in their Davidson home with their father Fernando Manrique, 44, and the family’s pet dog. Mr Manrique had rigged up the roof to deliver deadly gas to his family.

As the family’s devastated relatives prepared to fly from their home country Colombia to Sydney to identify their bodies, Ms Jones spoke of the hole they had left in the heart of the community.

While Martin loved to paint, Elisa preferred to create digital art. “Elisa would hold your hand in the sweetest way,” Ms Jones said. “She would look into your eyes and smile and lead staff around the oval.”

Maria Lutz died inside the Davidson home along with her husband and two young children.

Struggling with the challenges of  caring  for  the children  without the backing of family, Ms Lutz had told friends two weeks  ago of her plan to leave her husband, a technology executive, and return to Colombia.

“He was a prolific painter”.

Artwork by Martin & his sister Elisa Lutz shown at a memorial at their school St lucy's.

“With a marriage struggling over constant worries of the future of their severely ­autistic children,” a close friend told The City Paper in Bogota. “The children could not travel due to their  health issues on a 14-hour flight and in order to comfort Maria Claudia, her ­family would visit Australia once a year.

“She was going home this year, she decided.”

The couple were childhood sweethearts in Bogota and moved to Australia in 2005.

Martin communicated through his artwork according to his teachers. Source: Supplied

Martin’s delight at the tactile experience of doing art is evident.

If you are distressed by this story, contact Lifeline Australia: 13 11 14

AUTISM: WHAT IS IT?

* Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are lifelong developmental disabilities characterised by marked difficulties in social interaction and communication, and restricted and repetitive interests and behaviours.

* The word ‘spectrum’ is used because the range and severity of the difficulties people with an ASD experience can vary widely. Aspergers Syndrome is part of the spectrum.

* About one in 100 Australians are on the autism spectrum - around 230,000 people. It is four times more common in boys than girls.

* There is no single known cause - and no cure, although early intervention in a person’s life can minimise the impact on their functioning.

* People with the condition can present with a mix of indicators, which might include inexplicable tantrums, unusual interests or attachments, unusual movements such as hand-flapping or toe-walking, extreme difficulty coping with change.

* They might be afraid of everyday sounds, find eye contact uncomfortable, respond to certain sounds but ignore a human voice and avoid social contact.

* The cliche of all people with autism being Rainman-type geniuses is not true but they can be exceptionally creative, able to solve complex problems and have outstanding memory for detail.

* Albert Einstein, Mozart, Stanley Kubrick and Andy Warhol are all thought to have lived with autism. Celebrities who have the condition include actors Daryl Hannah and Dan Akroyd, singer Susan Boyle, Courtney Love, musician Ladyhawke and American Idol singer James Durbin.