POLICE INVESTIGATE DEATHS OF AUSTRALIAN MAN AND HIS TWO CHILDREN IN BALI

Indonesian police are investigating the deaths of an Australian man, named as Damien John Shaw, and his two children, found dead in a rented bungalow in Kuta, Bali, on Sunday. Denpasar Police said a preliminary examination indicated the two children died as a result of violence, while Shaw was suspected to have died by hanging. Australian media reported that police were treating the case as a suspected murder-suicide, though police said the cause and manner of death had not yet been formally confirmed. The bodies were taken to a hospital in Denpasar for further examination.

Police said Shaw's wife, who had travelled to Jakarta days earlier, became concerned after hearing one of her children crying during a phone call with her husband and was then unable to reach him again. She called a neighbour, named by police as Nur Khamid, and asked him to check on the family. Khamid looked through a window, saw no activity, then alerted the bungalow's owner and the local neighbourhood head. When knocking brought no response, residents forced the door open and found the three bodies inside. Denpasar police chief Leonardo D Simatupang said Kuta Police were examining CCTV footage and questioning witnesses, including Shaw's wife, to establish the cause of death.

Police said Shaw was originally from Fremantle in Western Australia. Western Australia's premier, Roger Cook, described the deaths as a "very confronting situation" and said his thoughts were with everyone involved. Cook said authorities hoped to establish what had happened as soon as possible. Denpasar Police said investigators were continuing crime scene processing and witness interviews to determine the exact cause of death for all three victims.