Hope Forest shooting

The Hope Forest shooting was a familicide in Hope Forest, South Australia on 6 September 1971, in which Clifford Bartholomew shot dead his wife, their seven children, his wife's sister-in-law and her son with a .22-calibre rifle.[1] It is the deadliest familicide in Australian history.

Hope Forest shooting
LocationHope Forest, South Australia
Date6 September 1971 (1971-09-06)
1:00 p.m.[lower-alpha 1]
Attack type
Familicide, mass shooting
Deaths10
PerpetratorClifford Bartholomew

Background

Hope Forest is locality 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Adelaide, settled in the 1930s,[2] where Bartholomew, a 40 year old truck driver,[lower-alpha 2] lived in a seven-room rented farmhouse with his wife and seven children. Heather's sister-in-law Winnis Mary Keane and her two-year-old son Samuel were holidaying with them. Bartholomew had relationship problems with his wife, Heather, suspecting her of having an affair with another man.[3]

Incident

All of the victims were asleep up to the time of the shooting.[lower-alpha 1] Bartholomew struck his wife in the head with a mallet, then shot her in the head with his .22 calibre rifle.[4] His other victims were shot in the head with the same rifle, some being first hit with a mallet in order to subdue them. Three of the children tried to escape, however they were both shot in the hallway. Keane fled the farmhouse but Bartholomew shot her in the back of the head before she could escape.[1] Bartholomew was arrested at 8pm.

List of deaths
    • Heather Alice Bartholomew, 40
    • Neville Kenneth Bartholomew, 19
    • Christine Heather Bartholomew, 17
    • Sharon Anne Bartholomew, 15
    • Helen Joy Bartholomew, 13
    • Gregory Kym Bartholomew, 10
    • Roger Clifford Bartholomew, 7
    • Sandra June Bartholomew, 4
    • Winnis Mary Keane, 23
    • Daniel Brian Sean Keane, 2

Aftermath

Bartholomew was charged for the murder of his wife and pleaded guilty to the court and was initially sentenced to death,[3] but was later changed to a life sentence and was then released on parole after serving eight years. He changed his name to Clifford Palmer, remarried, and raised a family of seven stepchildren, who had no knowledge of his crimes. It was not until years after his death the family learned about his actions.[5][6]

See also

Notes
  1. The Age news report cited has 1 p.m., which may be a typographical error
  2. Bartholomew had recently lost his truck-driving job and was now working nightshift at an abattoir.[1]

References
  1. "Father charged after 10 killed". The Age. 7 September 1971. Retrieved 25 June 2023 – via news.google.com.
  2. "Manning placenames: Hope Forest". Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  3. "Court Reports: Death sentence for wife killer". Canberra Times. 24 November 1971. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  4. "The Margaret River shooting shows that we must stay vigilant about gun access | Denise Cullen". the Guardian. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  5. "Mass murderer who killed his seven biological kids remembered as a 'gentleman' by adopted children | Express Digest". 2 June 2018. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
  6. "Court Reports: Death sentence for wife killer". Canberra Times. 24 November 1971. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
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