WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:09.560 In June two thousand, the Austin's enjoyed what was to 2 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:13.119 be their last family holiday. A month after this home 3 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:16.839 video was filmed, three members of the family were dead. 4 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:20.839 On the tenth of July, Claire Austin didn't turn up 5 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.559 for her shift as a carer. Her husband, Philip, visited 6 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:25.640 her place of work. 7 00:00:26.519 --> 00:00:28.839 He'd told them that his wife wouldn't be in that 8 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:32.880 day because she had back trouble. A man apparently at 9 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.079 ease with himself and with the world. 10 00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:39.119 In reality, Claire was lying lifeless in a pool of 11 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:42.880 blood on her kitchen floor, murdered by her own husband. 12 00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:47.560 But Philip Austin wasn't finished yet. Later that day, he 13 00:00:47.679 --> 00:00:51.119 calmly collected his children from school. 14 00:00:51.320 --> 00:00:54.880 This isn't a red miss decision. This isn't, you know, 15 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:00.560 a loss of temper. This is a reason decision that 16 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:02.840 a man has made that he's going to murder both. 17 00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:06.040 Of his children after taking them out for a fish 18 00:01:06.040 --> 00:01:06.920 and chip supper. 19 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:08.719 He strangled them. 20 00:01:08.920 --> 00:01:12.120 He killed his entire family, He killed the family that 21 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:14.719 he had created, and he did so in such a 22 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:16.200 call and such a calm way. 23 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:20.280 Into are half of my family out of our lives? 24 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:26.560 Philip Austin had committed the unthinkable and undoubtedly become one 25 00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:50.959 of the world's most evil killers. In the summer of 26 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:54.760 two thousand, the Austin family had disappeared and there was 27 00:01:54.840 --> 00:01:56.040 no answer. 28 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:56.799 On the home phone. 29 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:03.159 This was completely out of character, and as former Detective 30 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:08.360 Inspector Anti Tenant remembers, local people were starting to worry. 31 00:02:09.080 --> 00:02:11.520 The children had not been at school for a week, 32 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:15.759 and this was during term time and no application had 33 00:02:15.759 --> 00:02:19.759 been made to take the children at school. The community 34 00:02:19.800 --> 00:02:23.560 itself were a little bit anxious because they hadn't seen 35 00:02:23.599 --> 00:02:26.800 the family for a while. In fact, one neighbor had 36 00:02:26.840 --> 00:02:29.639 been out to Claire's car and had even taken the 37 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:32.639 measure of marking the tires against the curb to see 38 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:35.280 if the car moved overnight, but it didn't. 39 00:02:37.280 --> 00:02:41.439 The horrifying truth behind their absence would soon be revealed. 40 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.120 On Monday, the seventeenth of July two thousand, the bodies 41 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:49.719 of thirty one year old Claire Austin and her children, 42 00:02:49.840 --> 00:02:54.400 Kieran eight and Jade seven were discovered in the family home. 43 00:02:55.080 --> 00:02:58.120 The prime suspect was their thirty one year old husband 44 00:02:58.159 --> 00:03:02.599 and father, Philip Austin, who was nowhere to be found. 45 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:06.159 The damage that he did was not just limited to 46 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:12.560 the three souls who lost their lives, but has affected everyone, relatives, friends. 47 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:15.759 It was a desperate thing to do. 48 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:21.199 The quiet suburban street in the Standon's Barn area of 49 00:03:21.240 --> 00:03:25.560 Northampton had been the family's home for eight years. They'd 50 00:03:25.560 --> 00:03:29.479 appeared to neighbors to be an ordinary family. Now their 51 00:03:29.560 --> 00:03:31.520 home was a crime scene. 52 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:35.240 When we have a family who appear to be normal 53 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:38.000 from the outside and there is a domestic homicide and 54 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:41.159 the children are killed, there's a tendency to think that 55 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:43.120 these men have just snapped, they have. 56 00:03:43.240 --> 00:03:43.919 Just lost it. 57 00:03:44.240 --> 00:03:46.520 But that is not what happens at all. You do 58 00:03:46.599 --> 00:03:50.319 not go from being a psychologically healthy individual one day 59 00:03:50.479 --> 00:03:54.240 to killing your family the next. These cases, they're not 60 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:57.280 about a loss of control. If anything, they're a way 61 00:03:57.360 --> 00:03:58.439 of gaining control. 62 00:04:00.560 --> 00:04:05.360 This killer's story begins in nineteen sixty nine. Philip Austin 63 00:04:05.560 --> 00:04:08.800 was born that Valentine's Day in Northampton. 64 00:04:09.280 --> 00:04:12.159 His mother worked in a care home. His father was 65 00:04:12.240 --> 00:04:15.919 a lorry driver. This was a very traditional, nuclear family 66 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:17.399 and he was an only child. 67 00:04:18.040 --> 00:04:22.439 Philip's aunt, Mary Taylor, remembers that he was a reserve 68 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:23.199 little boy. 69 00:04:23.879 --> 00:04:27.160 We always noticed that he was quiet. I mean, if 70 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:29.319 he was with more son, he sort of opened up 71 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.240 a bit, but other than that he was always quiet. 72 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:36.240 He was one of those boys that alls stood on 73 00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:41.040 the sidelines, always watching, never initiating anything. 74 00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:45.319 After finishing school, Philip Austin went to work in a 75 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:49.199 factory before securing a job in the warehouse for a 76 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:50.399 supermarket chain. 77 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:53.399 He was living with his mum and dad while working 78 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:57.560 as a forklift truck driver, and then in nineteen ninety 79 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.879 one he met a girl called Claire. 80 00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:01.920 Golden, twenty one year old. 81 00:05:01.959 --> 00:05:05.920 Claire's close friend Diane Beale remembers. 82 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:07.519 How she loved a night out. 83 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:10.000 We used to be on the dance floor dancing together, 84 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:12.160 and everybody who's watched us, and we didn't care. 85 00:05:12.439 --> 00:05:14.160 She was such fun, she really was. 86 00:05:15.279 --> 00:05:18.560 On the night in question, Claire was out with another 87 00:05:18.639 --> 00:05:22.240 group of friends, but she was keen to tell Diane 88 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:23.920 all about her evening. 89 00:05:24.959 --> 00:05:27.079 She Vangy the next day and said that she'd met 90 00:05:27.120 --> 00:05:32.040 somebody really nice, and she'd been sitting at a bar 91 00:05:32.800 --> 00:05:34.480 and he was at the opposite end of the bar 92 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.160 and he brought her a rose, and then he took 93 00:05:38.199 --> 00:05:40.920 it round to her, and that's how I introduced himself. 94 00:05:41.759 --> 00:05:44.519 She said he was really nice and she liked him. 95 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:45.600 She was going to see him again. 96 00:05:47.079 --> 00:05:50.879 Claire was about three months younger than he was, and 97 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:53.680 she was different in every way. She was fun, she 98 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:57.120 was gregarious, she was loyal, she was happy about everything. 99 00:05:57.680 --> 00:06:01.639 Not someone you would expect to fall for. This introverted 100 00:06:01.839 --> 00:06:04.199 night shift forklift truck driver. 101 00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:09.920 When Claire's mother and stepfather, Carol and Harry, met the 102 00:06:09.959 --> 00:06:13.160 new man in her life, he was not what they 103 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:14.079 were expecting. 104 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:16.920 He wasn't her type. He was quiet. 105 00:06:17.920 --> 00:06:20.519 I didn't dislay him anything, you know. I just thought 106 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:25.439 he was a quiet guy that didn't have a lot 107 00:06:25.480 --> 00:06:29.560 of interests in none. I couldn't blame me, didn't share 108 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:30.639 sim interested me. 109 00:06:31.759 --> 00:06:36.680 Twenty two year old Austin's relationship with Claire progressed rapidly. 110 00:06:37.720 --> 00:06:41.360 Claire very quickly became pregnant after they met. 111 00:06:42.439 --> 00:06:46.399 Phil moved in while she was pregnant. But she was 112 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:48.759 looking forward to it, and I was happy for her 113 00:06:48.759 --> 00:06:51.160 because she seemed happy, said she loved him. 114 00:06:52.040 --> 00:06:54.199 News that there was going to be a new baby 115 00:06:54.240 --> 00:06:58.639 in the family was met with excitement by the prospective grandparents. 116 00:06:59.199 --> 00:07:01.279 My husband said, so, I'm not old enough to be 117 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:03.120 a grandfather and I'm not going to be married to 118 00:07:03.160 --> 00:07:06.480 a grandmother, and we used to laugh about it. 119 00:07:07.560 --> 00:07:11.240 On the nineteenth of February nineteen ninety two, the family 120 00:07:11.319 --> 00:07:14.839 welcomed Kieran Michael Austin into the world. 121 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:18.120 Harry and I went up to the hospital to see 122 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:20.879 her and it was just gorgeous. 123 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:25.720 I went out and bought a video camera and I 124 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:35.759 remember doing the video, trying to do this professional video. Hello, Hello, 125 00:07:35.920 --> 00:07:41.439 it's old Ronnie Quinn. 126 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.120 Twenty three year old Philip Austin seemed to rise to 127 00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:50.519 the responsibility of fatherhood. 128 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:54.319 He was very, very hands on. He used to feed him, 129 00:07:54.519 --> 00:07:57.480 change his nappy. It was really hands on. 130 00:07:57.920 --> 00:08:01.319 Whilst the couple began to settle into their roles as parents, 131 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.360 it became evident that Austin's mother, Linda had very fixed 132 00:08:05.399 --> 00:08:08.800 ideas about how her new grandson should be brought up. 133 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:11.279 Linda was going to be the one that was going 134 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:13.240 to be in charge and that was it, you know, 135 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:16.920 and I can understand more. Claire got a bit upset 136 00:08:16.920 --> 00:08:21.199 about it. Shall she thought, well, you know, or should 137 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:22.920 she tell me what I can and can't do with 138 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:24.160 more baby sort of him. 139 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:30.240 Relationships between Philip Austin and his parents soon soured. Even 140 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.240 at little Kieran's christening, his mother couldn't hide her disdain. 141 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.960 She had a real long face, and not long after 142 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:44.200 that she stopped seeing them and didn't speak to them. 143 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:47.960 They had an argument. She saw up every photo she 144 00:08:48.039 --> 00:08:50.879 had of Kieran, and that was it. 145 00:08:52.440 --> 00:08:57.559 There were one or two attempts at reconciliation, but Austin 146 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.399 had made his mind up. He didn't want anything more 147 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:01.919 to do with his parents. 148 00:09:03.279 --> 00:09:06.799 I think this is perhaps way of Austin isolating his 149 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:12.360 family from outside criticism, because when that's missing, you're not 150 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:14.039 called to account for your behavior. 151 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:19.879 When Kieran was just a few months old, Claire felt 152 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:24.559 pregnant again. Jade Carol Austin was born on the twenty 153 00:09:24.639 --> 00:09:29.159 second of April nineteen ninety three, just fourteen months after 154 00:09:29.200 --> 00:09:29.720 her brother. 155 00:09:30.559 --> 00:09:34.120 When Jade was born, oh my goodness, and she was 156 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:38.440 just everything. She was so pretty and she was like 157 00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:39.039 a little doll. 158 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:43.000 Of course, Harlie was ready with his video camera as 159 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.399 Kieran met his baby's sister for the first time. 160 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:58.159 Yeah, after I had come along, Well, I can say, 161 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:02.360 very happy family. That's what I thought anyway, And. 162 00:10:02.399 --> 00:10:06.000 To make their new family even more complete. Just three 163 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:10.000 months after Jade's arrival, on the seventeenth of July, Claire 164 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:11.840 and Philip Austin were married. 165 00:10:12.200 --> 00:10:14.720 Here was a lovely little wedding, the earliest small one. 166 00:10:15.279 --> 00:10:20.159 I did all the video work. That was a good 167 00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:22.799 deal and enjoyed it. 168 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:26.240 Whilst Claire's family and friends turned up in their droves 169 00:10:26.279 --> 00:10:28.159 to congratulate the happy couple. 170 00:10:28.519 --> 00:10:30.759 Austin had only two guests. 171 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:35.200 We weren't invited to the wedding, so none of the 172 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:37.840 family were because in the end Philip cut herself off 173 00:10:37.879 --> 00:10:38.879 from everybody. 174 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:44.279 His half of the church was almost deserted, whereas hers 175 00:10:44.559 --> 00:10:50.080 was absolutely packed. If ever, there was a demonstration a 176 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:54.600 perfect example of the strange nature of their relationship. 177 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:55.759 This was it. 178 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:02.720 The pictures showed the perfect family, but this would soon change. 179 00:11:02.759 --> 00:11:05.799 In just over two years, twenty four year old Philip 180 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:08.840 Austin had gone from living at home with his parents 181 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:12.200 to being a husband and father to two children. 182 00:11:13.279 --> 00:11:17.360 It's the most dramatic change that he's ever encountered in 183 00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:19.159 his life. 184 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:25.279 As the honeymoon period came to an end, the young 185 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:28.279 families settled in to their new life together. 186 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:33.480 At the Outset, when Kieran was born Austin it is 187 00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:38.600 best to be the perfect partner, the perfect dad, but 188 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:42.120 as time wore on, he found that more and more 189 00:11:42.320 --> 00:11:48.240 difficult to sustain, and by the time Jade arrived, his 190 00:11:48.360 --> 00:11:51.000 sense of isolation was beginning to grow. 191 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:55.720 Having a toddler and a newborn was all consuming, and 192 00:11:55.759 --> 00:11:59.960 the doting grandparents began to have some concerns about the 193 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:02.600 way Austin was with his young son. 194 00:12:03.559 --> 00:12:05.960 He was too rough with him, you know, you would 195 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:09.360 have him ling and pat them on the chest and 196 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:14.399 stuff too hard though. There's too much roughness in it 197 00:12:14.679 --> 00:12:17.759 for me, and often Kieran would end up crying, you. 198 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:22.039 Know, even when he was playing with Kieran. When you 199 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:24.919 look at some of the family videos, even in play, 200 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:28.000 he could be quite heavy handed and you raise a 201 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:29.080 few eyebrows. 202 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:33.480 The family began to see other things in Austin's behavior 203 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:35.039 that concerned them. 204 00:12:35.960 --> 00:12:41.440 After a time, he started doing strange things, like he 205 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:46.480 bought golf clubs, but we didn't play golf. And he 206 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:53.559 bought some weight for weight training, we never used them. 207 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:56.519 He brought himself a pair of trainers over one hundred 208 00:12:56.519 --> 00:13:00.559 pounds twenty years more ago. That was a lot of money. 209 00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:05.639 By contrast, Claire was a saver. All was squirreling away 210 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.639 money so that they could afford something nice. It caused 211 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:11.639 arguments between the couple. 212 00:13:12.639 --> 00:13:14.840 If she did find out that would be it, he'd 213 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.799 grab his bag and off he'd go with a few 214 00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:19.440 bits and pieces, and she wouldn't see or hear from 215 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:22.679 him for three or four days. He'd often ring the 216 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:25.799 police and say he's got missing, and they'd find him 217 00:13:25.840 --> 00:13:29.000 and bring him back. That's how he got the nickname 218 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:32.360 Gulliver because he'd score off on his travels, so she'd 219 00:13:32.399 --> 00:13:35.919 bring me and say, oh, Gulliver's gone off again. He'd 220 00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:39.320 come back, knowing that she would have him back because 221 00:13:39.320 --> 00:13:41.559 she didn't want a children to grow up in a 222 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:42.960 single parent family home. 223 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.919 As the years went on, Claire learned to deal with 224 00:13:47.039 --> 00:13:52.960 Austin's occasional absences. Kieran and Jade grew to be great 225 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:54.919 friends as well as siblings. 226 00:13:55.519 --> 00:14:01.200 Kieran was her protector, let fight different things, like all 227 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:04.600 brothers and sisters do. But no, he loved her. 228 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:17.279 Really did Karen. He was grown kid. Good questions, Oh darn. 229 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.360 He'd ask you a question and you'd try and answer it, 230 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:25.080 and you were giving them an answer, but halfway through 231 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:30.960 the answer he had another one. That's just what he was. 232 00:14:31.639 --> 00:14:32.120 It was. 233 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:35.960 Fust curiosity about everything. 234 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:42.240 Jade she was very quiet, quite shy. She had a 235 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:45.120 most amazing smile that lit up her face, and she 236 00:14:45.200 --> 00:14:47.600 used to blush and go read a lot when he 237 00:14:47.639 --> 00:14:49.759 spoke to her, and she had a little giggle. 238 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:54.519 When the children started going to school, Claire found she 239 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:57.240 had time to focus on other things. 240 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:01.159 Claire got a job, she was able to buy her 241 00:15:01.200 --> 00:15:04.639 own car, she had her own income so she wasn't 242 00:15:04.679 --> 00:15:08.840 reliant on Philip all the time for money. She had 243 00:15:08.879 --> 00:15:12.639 her own social life, all of those sorts of things. 244 00:15:13.559 --> 00:15:17.159 I think, in some respects that started to threaten Austin. 245 00:15:18.799 --> 00:15:21.399 Family was the one area of his life that he 246 00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:26.159 could dominate, and that's where his efforts were focused. So 247 00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.360 the family became like a pressure cooker. It absorbed a 248 00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:31.879 lot of stress and a lot of strain, and when 249 00:15:31.960 --> 00:15:35.399 you have an individual like Austin, that family can be 250 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.279 placed in quite a risky situation. 251 00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:42.799 Austin wanted to be the controlling force in that family, 252 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.159 and I don't mean that in a particularly aggressive or 253 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:49.039 nasty way, but he wanted to be the alpha male 254 00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:55.159 in that family, and I think he preferred it when 255 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:58.360 Claire was dependent upon him. 256 00:15:58.720 --> 00:16:02.679 The veneer of the afect family unit was beginning to 257 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:03.320 wear thin. 258 00:16:04.240 --> 00:16:09.720 Fatherhood was not his natural position. He wasn't paternal. He 259 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:12.159 tried it out, so to speak, but knew it didn't 260 00:16:12.159 --> 00:16:16.320 suit him and he found it very, very difficult to sustain. 261 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:21.919 Very often in these situations, it's the children that reveal things. 262 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:26.120 They let things slip, and that kind of sparks suspicion 263 00:16:26.399 --> 00:16:28.600 in other family members who go hang on a minute, 264 00:16:28.679 --> 00:16:29.840 things aren't quite right here. 265 00:16:30.519 --> 00:16:34.200 The children began to open up to their grandparents about 266 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:37.039 some worrying incidents with their father. 267 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:41.240 At one time, with both of them, we found out 268 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.600 that he had been doing something horrible where he'd put 269 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:47.600 his hands on the throat and Jade had told me 270 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.399 she said, we don't like it when daddy does that. 271 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:56.159 Do we care? And I was horrified. You know there's 272 00:16:56.399 --> 00:17:00.240 something he does don't do? Do you know? No even 273 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:05.200 had fun and where the children described it, it was 274 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:08.079 not a joke when he did it. 275 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:12.559 This is a really significant warning sign for me because 276 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:16.519 this behavior is very common in domestic abuse situations. It's 277 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:19.440 a way of a perpetrator showing a victim. I could 278 00:17:19.559 --> 00:17:20.880 kill you if I wanted to. 279 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:25.519 When Claire found out what had been happening, she was 280 00:17:25.599 --> 00:17:30.279 extremely upset, especially as she'd witnessed something herself which had 281 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.359 given her cause for concern. 282 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:36.240 She said that one day he hit care and really hard, 283 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:40.640 hard enough to make him fall in front of Claire. 284 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:46.200 And Claire said to him, if you ever do that again, 285 00:17:46.480 --> 00:17:49.640 we're finished. Don't ever touch him like that again, because 286 00:17:50.640 --> 00:17:51.960 we won't be together anymore. 287 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.440 I'm not turn no sumpter. And I took her to 288 00:17:55.480 --> 00:18:00.640 a solicitor and I said, Claire, you've got to get 289 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:03.960 rid of him and start again. So you can't live 290 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:07.039 like this. So do you know that Harry and I 291 00:18:07.079 --> 00:18:08.079 will look after you. 292 00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:12.359 I said, you know if you want to come Olivia 293 00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:18.480 with the kids. But if she talked around, and she 294 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:20.880 was here for a few days, but then she went back, 295 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.759 she went back to him. 296 00:18:24.039 --> 00:18:27.680 Claire was very clear that this roughness with Kieran had 297 00:18:27.720 --> 00:18:31.839 to stop. Philip Austin agreed to go to counseling sessions 298 00:18:32.039 --> 00:18:35.200 for help, but that didn't last long. 299 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:38.920 This was something that he didn't stick to because I 300 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:42.039 honestly think that he didn't believe he was doing anything wrong. 301 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:45.000 He literally did this to take the pressure off and 302 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:47.440 to make it look like he was changing his behavior. 303 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:52.519 Nevertheless, the experience seemed to have had a positive effect 304 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:53.480 on Austin. 305 00:18:54.519 --> 00:18:56.759 She told me that he was spending a bit more 306 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.759 time with Kieran. They were cooking together and going for 307 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.920 a walk, Watson playing football, and it seemed to be 308 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:06.319 working and making things easier in the house. And she said, 309 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:08.799 it's getting help, and I think it's working. I think 310 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:10.079 everything's going to be all right. 311 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:14.319 Things appeared to have turned a corner. Thirty one year 312 00:19:14.319 --> 00:19:17.480 old Austin was making a real effort with the children 313 00:19:17.759 --> 00:19:21.119 and had stopped being so frivolous with money. In the 314 00:19:21.160 --> 00:19:24.559 summer of two thousands, they went on holiday to Fort 315 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:26.640 a Ventura with Claire's cousin. 316 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:33.480 When they came back, we picked them up from the airport. 317 00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:36.799 They were full of the whole and enjoyed it so 318 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:41.559 much and kept talking about going on another one, and 319 00:19:42.039 --> 00:19:46.079 Carol evident said, declay, O, come on, you know you 320 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:50.720 and can't be going another. Holy story. Got plenty of money, 321 00:19:50.759 --> 00:19:52.480 got some saved up in the bank. 322 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:56.119 The holiday seemed to have done them all the World 323 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:59.640 of Good. Three weeks later, Carol spent the day with 324 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:03.000 and was pleased to hear that things between the couple 325 00:20:03.319 --> 00:20:04.119 were going well. 326 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:08.880 We used to go shopping on a Thursday and she 327 00:20:09.359 --> 00:20:12.039 that day she told me that they were getting on 328 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:13.279 better than had ever done. 329 00:20:14.359 --> 00:20:18.079 But despite Claire's optimism, the tide was about to turn. 330 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:21.960 On Sunday, the ninth of July two thousands, they were 331 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:24.079 looking forward to a family treat. 332 00:20:24.920 --> 00:20:26.799 The whole family was supposed to have been going to 333 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:31.279 the cinema, and again Austin was helping Kieran. 334 00:20:31.359 --> 00:20:33.000 I think it was with some homework. 335 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:38.039 He got frustrated with kier and he'd ended up shouting 336 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:39.480 at Kieran and getting angry. 337 00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:43.960 He had a great card Kieran, and I think he 338 00:20:44.039 --> 00:20:46.599 went over the top, so probably Claire had a bit 339 00:20:46.640 --> 00:20:51.400 of a Gordon and then he went in the bathroom instead. 340 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:52.720 Most of the. 341 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.680 Day they missed the film. 342 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:00.480 On the Sunday evening, I phoned up see if I'd 343 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:04.759 enjoyed it, and he answered the phone, something he never 344 00:21:04.799 --> 00:21:09.720 ever did, and he said Claire was upstairs. He's very quiet, 345 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:14.200 and the way he spoke, I thought there's been an argument. 346 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.400 So I just said, I'll tell Claire our phone tomorrow. 347 00:21:19.640 --> 00:21:23.680 The rest of the week I kept phoning and all 348 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:25.960 I got was the answer phone. 349 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:30.079 We thought, well, you know, they'll maybe trying to patch 350 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:35.319 things up. I remember ringing them on the Weddnesday and 351 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.279 I left a message said, come on, Clay or what 352 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:39.920 what are you playing at? 353 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:40.160 You know? 354 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:41.720 What? What's up? 355 00:21:42.920 --> 00:21:44.400 Have we upset you? Ah? 356 00:21:44.400 --> 00:21:45.400 Aren't you're ringing us? 357 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:49.839 I didn't start to worry until towards the end of 358 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:53.400 the week and her cousin, who had been on the 359 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:58.119 holiday with called in and I said, have you heard 360 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:03.039 from Claire? And she said why. I said, well, I've 361 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:06.319 been ringing and I can't get an answer. So she said, well, 362 00:22:06.359 --> 00:22:09.079 don't tell her that I've told you. But apparently he's 363 00:22:09.200 --> 00:22:12.240 playing up again. But she doesn't want you to know 364 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:15.960 because she doesn't want you to worry, which is why 365 00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:17.640 we didn't do anymore. 366 00:22:18.839 --> 00:22:22.720 By Monday, the seventeenth of July two thousand, Kieran and 367 00:22:22.839 --> 00:22:26.200 Jade had missed a whole week of school. Concerned by 368 00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:30.119 the children's absence, staff tried to contact the Austin family, 369 00:22:30.359 --> 00:22:32.240 but their calls went unanswered. 370 00:22:33.759 --> 00:22:37.039 The phone rang and it was the school secretary. I 371 00:22:37.079 --> 00:22:41.759 don't know whether it's mother's intuition, but alarm bells rang, 372 00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:44.599 and I just knew it was going to be something bad. 373 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:50.039 I suppose I kept dressing they've gone away. They got 374 00:22:50.079 --> 00:22:53.759 about they've booked this holiday and gone away, and just 375 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:59.559 said I didn't know anyone, and the heart was down here. 376 00:23:00.039 --> 00:23:00.880 I didn't know why. 377 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:05.319 Carol and Harry went straight round to the family's home. 378 00:23:05.799 --> 00:23:09.400 When they arrived, there was no sign of anybody. Carol 379 00:23:09.480 --> 00:23:13.279 started talking to a neighbor, whilst Harry let himself inside 380 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:14.920 using the spare key. 381 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:18.640 For a brief second, his spirits lifted. 382 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:23.720 All letters and stuff behind the doors were push hard 383 00:23:23.759 --> 00:23:26.920 to get it open, and I thought, yeah, that becus 384 00:23:26.960 --> 00:23:31.519 they've gone away. Yeah, anywhere I got in the houses, 385 00:23:32.519 --> 00:23:38.799 then this was awful to smell. Any I went down 386 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:44.960 the passageway or kitchen. I went into the kitchen, saw 387 00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:55.880 clearline and blood everywhere, and she had marks on her wrists. 388 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:03.200 It looked like she near be cut wrists. Because murder, 389 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:07.960 you know, murders not in my mind. So I ran 390 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:10.440 to the front door just as Carl was coming in. 391 00:24:10.559 --> 00:24:15.559 I said, Carol, don't come in. Chris done something new. 392 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:16.000 Herself. 393 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:22.279 His face was just dreadful. I said that she hasn't. 394 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:23.720 I said she wouldn't. 395 00:24:24.200 --> 00:24:24.960 I just went. 396 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:27.920 Straight in and I went into the kitchen and Claire 397 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:29.319 laid on the floor. 398 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:35.119 And I just stood there, lying lifeless beside Claire with Dandy, 399 00:24:35.400 --> 00:24:39.400 one of the family's pet poodles. As Carol took the 400 00:24:39.440 --> 00:24:43.640 scene in her thoughts turned to her grandchildren. 401 00:24:44.759 --> 00:24:49.240