Husband ‘cried his heart out’ with murder-suicide wife’s parents

A father whose three children were killed by their mother in a murder-suicide has met with his in-laws in a devastating reunion.

EXCLUSIVE: The man whose three young children were killed by his wife in a devastating murder-suicide is a “broken man”, close friends say.

Family and friends rallied around Tomislav Perinovic on Saturday as he struggled to come to terms with the loss of his entire family.

His wife Katie Perinovic, 42, killed their daughters Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and son Matthew, 3 before taking her own life in their Tullamarine home on Thursday.

“He is a broken man – totally broken,” close family friend Frankie Franjic told the Sunday Herald Sun.

Tomislav and Katie Perinovic, with daughters Claire, 7, and Anna, 5, and son Matthew, 3. Picture: Facebook

Flowers and cards outside the Tullamarine house where Katie Perinovic and her children Claire, 7, Anna, 5, and Matthew, 3 were found dead. Picture: Josie Hayden

“He loved his wife and three kids. His priority was always the kids. Losing a complete family is just heartbreaking. Words cannot explain it.”

Mr Franjic said the murder-suicide had come as a complete shock to his friend Tomislav, their extended families and the wider Croatian community.

“This has come totally out of the blue,” he said.

“For Tomislav, everything was normal. There were no warning signs.

“He was such a good father to those kids, he was always around them. His family was number one.

“I’ve heard of car accidents where an entire family is killed, but this is totally unique, unheard of. It came out of nowhere, there was no warning.”

On Saturday, Tomislav, 48, was reunited with his deceased wife’s parents for the first time since the tragedy.

A chaplainat the scene of the murders in Tullamarine. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Family friend Frankie Franjic at the family home in Tullarmarine. Picture: David Geraghty

“It was a sad reunion with the in-laws, as you can imagine,” Mr Franjic said.

“It is a very difficult situation. They cried their hearts out.

“Katie’s parents have accepted the situation, their daughter has taken the lives of their three grandkids.

“They were giving each other hugs and condolences. It was a beautiful reunion under such awful circumstances.”

The family made agreements on upcoming funeral arrangements and are awaiting the release of the family’s bodies from the coroner.

It is understood Mr Perinovic is receiving counselling to work through the grief of losing his beloved family.

“He is still living in disbelief that it had happened,” Mr Franjic said.

“I thought he was going to break my back with how hard he hugged me.

“The Croatian community are paying their respects. We are supporting him as much as we can.”

Tomislav Perinovic, 39, and Katica Perinovic, 34 at their wedding.

A family friend said Mr Perinovic had a heartbreaking reunion with his wife’s parents.

The Perinovics had lived on Burgess St in Tullamarine since their children were born.

Claire attended St Christopher’s Catholic School in Airport West, with her younger sister Anna also due to start there at the start of February.

Mr Perinovic found the bodies of his wife and children inside the family home and made a frantic call to triple-0 on Thursday at 12.20pm.

He was released without charge on Friday, with Victoria Police releasing a statement saying detectives had formed the view that Mrs Perinovic was responsible for all four deaths.

Victoria Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Bob Hill said the incident would leave a lifelong impact.

“Police will particularly work to support the families of those involved over the coming weeks and ensure they have the help they need. This has been an incredibly heartwrenching experience for all concerned,” he said.