By Amber Schultz, Sally Rawsthorne and Riley Walter
The woman who police believe stabbed her two young sons to death at their Blue Mountains home had written extensively about mental health, with her state of mind the key focus of detectives investigating the tragedy.
Nick Smith went to the home his two sons, nine-year-old Ben and 11-year-old Russell, shared with his former partner Trish Smith on Tuesday when he became concerned he had not heard from her, police sources told the Herald.
At church together at Easter this year. Investigators’ focus is now on when the seemingly happy family began to unravel.Credit: Facebook
When he arrived at the weatherboard cottage in Faulconbridge he found the bodies of his children. Both had been stabbed to death. Trish Smith was at the home too, suffering from self-inflicted injuries.
The 42-year-old mother remains under police guard at Westmead Hospital as investigators await a medical clearance for her to be interviewed and give a statement, as details emerge about her history of mental health issues.
Investigators’ focus is now on when the seemingly happy family began to unravel, with social media posts from as recently as Easter showing them at church together.
Smith was known to police in relation to minor matters, but there was no family history of domestic violence. She had one minor mental health incident around four years ago, police sources say.
Ben and Russell Smith, who were found dead in their family home. Their mother is in custody.
Trish Smith started an urban farming business in her front yard during the COVID-19 pandemic after she lost her job. Business records show she registered the business name Farmsmith, but never registered a company.
Smith became a Young Farmers’ Connect coordinator and attended the NSW DPI Young Farmer Business Conference in Dubbo, where materials from The Centre for Rural and Remote Mental Health inspired her to focus on her mental health.
“Having a tool that I can scan each week and check how I’m tracking with my mental health is invaluable,” she wrote in a 2021 blog post.
“I feel really grateful that I have access to education and support to understand my mental health better, and it’s been empowering in the chaos that has been the last year, to be able to stop, bring awareness to my experience and then take steps to ensure I look after myself.”
Trish Smith and her sons, Ben and Russell.Credit: Facebook
COVID-19, she wrote, had been a “very difficult time for so many of us; lots of intense emotions, uncertainty and trauma”.
“Having experienced work-related anxiety in the past, I am actively working towards how I can meaningfully create a workplace culture that maintains and improves my mental health and wellbeing.”
Social media photos of the family paint a portrait of their idyllic life in the Blue Mountains.
Property records show Nick and Trish Smith bought their Faulconbridge home together 14 years ago, and he had lived at the cottage until the couple separated.
A post to the boys’ school’s Facebook page shows the family of four attending church for Easter together in March this year.
Images online also show Nick Smith taking his sons to a music festival as toddlers, describing the boys as “killing their first festival”.
According to his LinkedIn, he has worked for Woolworths since 2007 and is currently Big W’s head of replenishment.
Social media posts from the boys’ school, Lawson’s Our Lady of The Nativity Primary, show the brothers participating in activities including reading to preschoolers and playing soccer.
Floral tributes lay at the entrance to Our Lady of the Nativity Primary in Lawson on Wednesday.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“Russ said he had the best day ever. Thank you for providing the kids with so many opportunities,” Trish commented on a post last month.
The two brothers had attended school on Monday.
Our Lady of Nativity on Wednesday issued a statement through the Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese saying the school community was “devastated” by the tragic deaths of Ben and Russell.
Counselling and wellbeing support is available to students and staff, and will continue to be provided in coming weeks.
“The care and kindness of the broader Blue Mountains community at this difficult time is much appreciated.”
Members of the Blue Mountains community arrived at the home on Wednesday to lay flowers and pay tribute.Credit: Kate Geraghty
On Wednesday morning, members of the Blue Mountains community began to lay flowers at the Faulconbridge home, where the boys had lived their entire lives, and at the school.
Neighbours darted across the road, their heads down as one laid a large bouquet with a handwritten note. A toddler left two Hot Wheels cars as his father held his hand.
A blue forensics tarpaulin shielded the house’s red door from the normally quiet street, with neighbours closing ranks and declining to speak to the media about the family.
Premier Chris Minns said the “horrifying, very distressing” incident was another reminder of how difficult the job of emergency services workers could be.
“I can only imagine what the father of those two boys is going through today and I want to assure him the people of NSW are behind him as he deals with the turning of his life upside down,” he said.
“(This) has obviously distressed the people of NSW and I want to assure them every help will be provided to the father of those two boys in the days ahead as he deals with this incredibly distressing situation.”
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.
If you or someone you know is in need of support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue.
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