Police investigating after Wayne Smith, teen son Noah found dead with gunshot wounds in Yamba in northern NSW
A father and son found dead with gunshot wounds after a suspected murder-suicide have been identified, while a coastal northern NSW town reels from the shocking tragedy.
Grafton
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The surviving family of a teenage boy suspected of being the victim in a horrific murder-suicide involving his father were being comforted by family and professionals as detectives begin investigating the family’s history for clues to the tragedy.
Police believe Wayne Smith, 58, used one of his registered firearms to kill his 15-year-old son Noah before turning the gun on himself in their family home at Yamba on the NSW North Coast on Thursday afternoon.
A frantic relative raised the alarm before police discovered the bodies about 1.10pm.
“We will look at the history of both the father and the son,” Coffs-Clarence police Commander Superintendent Shane Cribb told reporters on Friday.
“We will look at any family history and we will look at schools … (speak to) neighbours we have been canvassing.”
He said police would provide everything they could to the coroner.
Supt Cribb added: “We have been actively involved with the family right from the start, we have wrapped as much welfare around the family as we can.”
“We have also taken the welfare to another step,” he said.
“We have schools involved, we have communities involved, we have got the emergency services (involved). It is a tragic situation.
“At the same time, there is a very comprehensive investigation being undertaken by detectives.”
Supt Cribb said detectives worked through the night ahead of preparing a report for the Coroner.
Neighbours in Kookaburra Court, a quiet suburban Yamba street where the Smiths’ well-maintained brick family home is situated, remained bewildered and devastated as the event rocked the northern NSW seaside hamlet.
Even by sleepy Yamba standards, the dead end street where the Smiths lived was hushed as the sun rose on the first day since the tragedy came to light.
A heartbroken Emmeline Arelong said she was like a second mum, or an aunty to Noah.
She had known him since kindergarten and looked after him when she worked at St James Primary in after-school care.
“He was a sweet boy and it’s hard to comprehend it,” she said.
She was calling in to see her in-laws, who live next door to the Smiths’ home, and was confronted by cul-de-sac choked with police vehicles and detectives.
“I had a bond with him (Noah). It was a beautiful family – who would have thought,” Ms Arelong said.
“When I have my first grandson I was hoping he would be named Noah.”
Lisa Flynn lives three doors away in Kookaburra Court and arrived home after a trip to Coffs Harbour just as police arrived at the scene.
“The forensics people were here until after midnight,” she said.
“Normally the only traffic we ever get is people turning around in the end of the cul-de-sac.”
Ms Flynn, a resident of the street for two-and-a-half years, said the Smiths mostly kept to themselves.
“He (Noah) was just always with his dad, quite often working on their boat as they were keen fishermen,” she said.
Ms Arelong said Noah was a student at McAuley College at Grafton, but Ms Flynn said she thought he may not have been attending school.
“I hadn’t seen him in uniform for quite a time,” she said.
“When I got home yesterday I just thought – ‘what’s going on?’.”
Supt Cribb said of the tragedy: “I have worked in a number of country locations all throughout NSW and I always find in the smaller communities it has more effect because everyone knows everyone.”
“And I can say this, I actually have my own police who actually know the family. I have police officers’ children that actually went to the same school.
“So when you talk about the effect that it has had in a whole, it affects a lot more people than you think.”
EARLIER
The bodies of a 58-year-old man and 15-year-old boy were found at a Yamba property on Thursday afternoon.
An investigation by officers from Coffs Clarence Police District is in its infancy, but it is believed to be a murder-suicide, with the pair involved understood to be father and son.
About 1.10pm today, police were called to a property on Kookaburra Court, Yamba.
It was reported two bodies had been found by a relative.
The bodies were located inside the property, both suffering gunshot wounds.
A crime scene was established, which will be forensically examined.
Initial inquiries indicate the 58-year-old was a licensed firearms holder.
Detectives have requested his licensing history from the NSW Firearms Registry.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Anyone with information should phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence.
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