Brother in police sights over Waterlow killings

The violent slayings of a curator and an author has the arts world in shock.

POLICE were last night hunting for Sydney man Antony Waterlow after identifying him as a "person of interest" in the vicious stabbing attack that claimed the lives of his prominent art curator father Nick Waterlow and author sister Chloe Waterlow.

As police launched the manhunt yesterday, Ms Waterlow's husband, Ben Heuston, flew home to Australia from a business trip to Britain, having learned that his 68-year-old father-in-law and his 37-year-old wife had been slashed to death -- apparently in front of the couple's three small children -- in the family's home in Randwick, in Sydney's exclusive east.

Police yesterday released an image of the man they referred to as a "person of interest". Although they did not name him, The Australian has been told by a Waterlow family friend that the photo is of Antony Waterlow, 42.

It is understood Antony Waterlow, who was allegedly seen leaving the Clovelly Road property of his sister on Monday night just moments after neighbours heard "desperate" screams coming from the house, may have a mental health condition.

Police warned that the "person of interest" could still be armed and dangerous.

Acting Chief Superintendent Geoff Beresford would not confirm if the attack was a domestic incident. "That's certainly a line of inquiry and the person we are seeking may be able to assist further in that regard," he said.

Detectives are concentrating their search for the suspect in the eastern suburbs.

The Waterlows' four-year-old and eight-month-old sons were in care last night, while their two-year-old daughter was in hospital in a stable condition, recovering from a laceration to her throat.

News of the killings -- the pair were stabbed "multiple" times -- shocked not only locals but has devastated the broader arts community, of which both Nick Waterlow and his daughter were members.

Just four days ago, Nick Waterlow was among the crowd at the Back to Bacchus Ball, a function at the University of NSW.

At 68, he was considered a pillar of Sydney's visual art world, and was deeply involved in planning for a new museum for the university's College of Fine Arts.

COFA dean Ian Howard, who had known the curator for three decades, said: "Nick was there in full swing as a 68-year-old acting like an 18-year-old."

A fellow lecturer at COFA, Joanna Mendelssohn, said she had been deluged with messages from former students expressing grief. Among them was indigenous art curator Brenda Croft, who told Mendelssohn she owed her career to Nick Waterlow, a widely published author.

"He was the gentlest, most wonderful, supportive person," Mendelssohn said.

Elizabeth Ann Macgregor, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, described Nick Waterlow as an "extraordinary figure -- respected not just in the Australian art world but internationally for his commitment and dedication to art".

Former colleagues remembered Ms Waterlow as a "fantastic girl" who made friends easily.

Warwick Tiernan, marketing co-ordinator at ABC Radio, where Ms Waterlow once worked, said: "She was bubbly, she was funny, she was warm. People sought out her company."

Ms Waterlow co-authored two cookbooks in recent years -- one that compiled the favourite recipes of ABC listeners, the other which included the preferred homecooked dishes of celebrities.

Neighbours of Ms Waterlow described her as "a lovely soul". who doted on her three children.