‘I’ll never stop loving you’: Dad’s pledge as mourners pay tribute to slain brothers at funeral
There was a heartbreaking moment at the funeral of Ben and Russell Smith, aged 9 and 11, who were fatally stabbed, when their father farewelled them.
NSW
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A heartbroken father has farewelled his sons with a poignant eulogy, then stared in silence at the single brown wood coffin at the funeral service of slain siblings Russell and Ben Smith, who were knifed as they slept in their beds at their Blue Mountains home.
The Blue Mountains community mourned as friends and loved ones flocked to Springwood for the funeral of Ben and Russell, aged 9 and 11, who were found dead in the family home on September 10. Their mother has been charged with their murders.
First to speak was their solemn father, Nick, breaking his silence with a long, animated eulogy as he looked at the coffin holding both of his boys in the aisle of St Thomas Aquinas.
He spoke to a packed congregation of more than 700 family, friends and schoolchildren who knew the dark-haired brothers from Faulconbridge.
Voice cracking with emotion, Mr Smith talked of Ben and Russell’s passions for concerts, sport, their guinea pigs Fluff and Tiger, their love of fishing saying: “Russ and Benny, you were the biggest pleasures and joys of our lives”.
“I will make sure you’re never forgotten,” he said.
“When (to the congregation) you go on your adventures, make sure you look for my beautiful boys Russ and Ben. Come back and tell them what you’ve been doing out there.
Then he spoke directly again to his slain sons.
“Boys it’s been an absolute, absolute privilege to be your father. I hold you so deeply in my heart.
“You are loved by your family, through your friends, through the community through the school, through your soccer club, through the Panthers, throughout society.
“You will be so missed. You had such beautiful little lives, such beautiful, beautiful adventures.
“You were such wonderful, cheeky, funny, charismatic boys.
“You made the world a better place. You’re my world, you’re my little Ben, my Russ, you’re my best crew, we had some adventures.
“I’m gonna miss you two so much. Your memories are your legacy, I love you so much. I will never stop loving you. No one else will either.”
“MY BEAUTIFUL SOULS”
Breaking down in tears, Mr Smith sais his boys were “just the most beautiful souls, beautiful little kids just becoming beautiful young men.”
Recalling their births, he said Russell came into the world on the 24th of July, 2013 and from that moment was “just so alive and so vibrant.”
“You just looked at life with a big, cheeky smile, and just embraced it and ate it up,” he said.
With emotional detail he continued: “When he was born, he came out and just did this biggest stretch I’ve ever seen.
“He stretched every single limb he had. His little fingers were going right out. His toes were even stretching and moving. And it was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
“I knew that we were going to be best friends … have some amazing adventures together. “Benjamin Henry Smith, he came into this world on the fifth of June, 2015 at 3pm and this real gentle old soul was born. And we looked at you, and you’re one of those people that just looked like you had been here before, and you had this real little old face on you.
“You had this real cheeky little smile, and you just looked up and cuddled up to everybody in that room. And you’re just full of love and just and just real, real sense of adventure.
“As soon as your brother saw you, I think the stories of you being his next playmate were a little bit too real for us, and he jumped up on that bed where I was holding you, pretty much tackling you down to the ground, and you didn’t even care….”
Readings were given by father Christopher Del Rosario, and school friends Lauren Maund, Mel Brown and Tom Johnston.
The children’s distraught grandfather, and Trish’s father, Geoff Densmore, sobbed continuously during the service.
FINAL JOURNEY
As the service ended, mourners, many of them children carrying teddy bears and soft toys, and dressed in the boys’ favourite colours — red, orange and blue — formed a guard of honour as the hearse left the church, just eight minutes’ drive from the home where Mr Smith found his bloodstained boys.
It’s a trauma, he has told family, that will remain forever etched on his mind.
The casket, smudged by the touches and kisses of those who knew and loved the boys, was carried out by their father, grandfather and uncles, and transported on for a private burial nearby,
Mr Smith, dressed in a chequered jacket and red shirt and orange handkerchief kept his head bowed as he held the coffin, stopping briefly to be consoled by mourners outside the church.
MUM REMAINS IN CUSTODY
As the ceremony unfolded, the boys’ mother Trish Smith, 42, was said to be crying in custody awaiting her next court appearance, charged with murdering the brothers.
“She’s aware the funeral is today and is suffering,” a source close to Trish Smith said.
It’s alleged the boys’ father found their bodies, with emergency services called to the Chapman Parade home after reports of a concern for welfare for a woman and two children.
Trish Smith, a NSW government worker, was also found inside the home with alleged self-inflicted stab wounds and was taken to Westmead Hospital where she was placed under police guard, and ultimately charged with murdering her sons.
Ms Smith did not make an application for bail when she appeared before the Parramatta Bail Court on September 14 where she was represented by solicitor Paul McGirr, who said she Smith’s lawyer Paul McGirr said she was in custody “living a bad nightmare” and coming to terms with the traumatic events played out in her home.
Ms Smith is set to front court again on November 8.
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