Hope Forest shooting

Last updated
Hope Forest shooting
LocationHope Forest, Southern Australia, Australia
Date6 September 1971 (1971-09-06)
1:00 p.m.
Attack type
 Familicide, mass shooting
Weapons.22 caliber rifle, mallet
Deaths10
PerpetratorClifford Bartholomew

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

Contents

Background

Hope Forest is a farmhouse that is located 35 miles away from Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, which Clifford lived with his wife and seven children. Near it was a cottage that Winnie Keane and her son were living in that was being rented from a local farmer. Clifford was a 40 year old truck driver at the time of the shooting and had relationship problems with his wife, Heather, after she seemed to be having an affair with another man. [2]

Incident

The shooting occurred around 1pm. All of the victims were asleep at the time of the shooting. Heather was sleeping when Clifford struck her in the head with a mallet. She then woke up screaming. Clifford then shot her in the head with his .22 caliber rifle. [3] His other victims were shot through the head using the same rifle and some of them were also hit using a mallet in order to subdue them. Three of the children tried to escape after being awakened by the initial shots, however they were both shot down a hall. Winnie Keane and her son Daniel managed to escape the farmhouse but Clifford managed to shoot them both. [4] Clifford was moving from room to room when he was doing his rampage. After the shooting, Clifford was arrested at 8pm. [5]

List of deaths
Killed:
    • 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 Jane Bartholomew, 4
    • Winnie Mary Keane, 23
    • Daniel Brain Sean Keane, 2

Aftermath

Clifford was charged for the murder of his wife and pleaded guilty to the court and was initially sentenced to death, but was later changed to a life sentence and was then released after serving eight years on parole. He changed his name to Clifford Palmer and remarried and raised a family with seven stepchildren, without any knowledge of his crimes. It wasn't until years after his death the family learned about his actions. [6] [7]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "The Age - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  2. ↑ "COURT REPORTS Death sentence for wife killer". Canberra Times. 1971-11-24. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  3. ↑ "The Margaret River shooting shows that we must stay vigilant about gun access | Denise Cullen". the Guardian. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  4. ↑ "The Age - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  5. ↑ "COURT REPORTS Death sentence for wife killer". Canberra Times. 1971-11-24. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  6. ↑ "Mass murderer who killed his seven biological kids remembered as a 'gentleman' by adopted children | Express Digest". 2018-06-02. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
  7. ↑ "COURT REPORTS Death sentence for wife killer". Canberra Times. 1971-11-24. Retrieved 2023-01-04.
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