Grief-stricken father breaks silence after sons found dead
<p>The devastated father of the two young boys who were <a href="https://oversixty.com.au/finance/legal/mother-arrested-after-two-boys-found-dead-in-blue-mountains-home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found dead</a> in their home in the Blue Mountains has spoken out about the "unimaginable" tragedy. </p>
<p>Nick Smith found the bodies of his sons, Russell, 11, and Ben, 9, in their home in Faulconbridge on Tuesday afternoon. </p>
<p>The children's mother and Nick's estranged ex-wife Trish Smith was arrested and spent Tuesday night under police guard in hospital, where she arrived in a stable condition but with self-inflicted wounds. </p>
<p>Nick said the loss of their “beautiful boys” had caused “unimaginable pain and distress”.</p>
<p>“Russell and Ben were happy, funny, outgoing boys, and were very much loved by their family and friends,” he said in a statement on Thursday.</p>
<p>“Like other boys their age, they loved sports, soccer, the Penrith Panthers, fishing, books, music, spending time with their friends and Max their pup."</p>
<p>“We cannot understand how our boys have been taken this way and we appreciate the kindness and compassion shown by the community.”</p>
<p>Nick added they were requesting privacy at this time.</p>
<p>Police are continuing their investigation into the tragedy and have refused to speculate on the events leading up to the deaths of the two boys, however, they confirmed hey are not looking for any other parties who could be involved. </p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">Blue Mountains Mayor Mark Greenhill expressed the community’s grief in a statement over the tragedy, writing, "Our community has lost two precious souls in the most awful circumstances. Now is a time to come together and remember these two beautiful children."</p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';">NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb acknowledged the profound emotional toll the incident has had on law enforcement officers. "I think the older and more experience you get in this job, things like this still cut to the core. It’s a tragic situation," she said.</p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';"><strong><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Need to talk to someone? Don't go it alone. </em></strong></p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';"><strong><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit lifeline.org.au</em></strong></p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';"><strong><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636</em></strong></p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';"><strong><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">SANE: 1800 187 263; saneforums.org</em></strong></p>
<p style="font-size: 16px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1rem; caret-color: #212529; color: #212529; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, sans-serif, 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji';"><em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Image credits: NSW Police</em></p>
<p> </p>
