The 29th of July 2014 is a day that changed the lives of three families forever.
It was a normal day an all accounts. Dad was an environmental compliance officer, travelling across the country to monitor land-clearing so, leaving to go on an overnight job was completely normal. My family all said their good byes and my brothers and I went off on our day like normal.
But at 6pm that night, things changed forever. That night is still very vague to me, but I distinctly remembered seeing six missed calls on my phone - all from Dad - which raised alarm bells. I then walked out and saw my mother in tears. At that point I still had no idea what was going on, my body became filled with unexplained rage. I hadn’t felt left out in the cold like that before.
Glen Turner was murdered by a rural NSW farmer. Photo: AAP Source: NSW OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT AND HE
It wasn’t until the next morning I found out that Dad had been involved in a barbaric shooting. While attending a job, Dad and his colleague, Glen Turner, were set upon by rural farmer, Ian Turnbull who shot Glen. A game of cat and mouse then followed, lasting for around 25 minutes as Dad and Glen tried desperately to avoid Ian and the bullets that kept coming their way. After sustaining two more gun shots Glen eventually succumbed to his injuries, Dad was physically unharmed.
I was torn between relief that Dad was ok, anger because I didn’t have much of an idea of what took place and why and sadness. I knew Glen Turner for many years, and although Dad is lucky to be alive there is another family that didn’t have their father and partner return home.
For the next two and a half years, things were never “normal”. Witnessing something like this had a huge effect on Dad and subsequently his relationship with his three sons. He went from being my best friend, to a shell of his former self and a recluse. At the age I was, I didn’t understand it. I couldn’t work out why Dad couldn’t just go back to work and get on with life. I was only 16 and I didn’t understand the magnitude that this would have on someone.
Years later Robert Strange is still dealing with the fallout of what happened to him. Photo: Insight Source: Insight
As I got older I think it changed my perspective on life, made me more of a realist. I saw Dad hit all sorts of lows and from then on I never wanted to be that vulnerable. No one should go to work and feel like they are not going to come home. It was hard to look after Dad with no support, my family was there but I didn’t want to tell them how I felt.
It was quite a prominent story at the time so people knew Dad was affected but they just didn’t stop to think how his family and friends were doing. People don’t realise witnessing a crime has a ripple effect. Things that drastic don’t just affect one person. It would have been nice to have a bit of reassurance and to know there was a hand there if I needed it.
I write this piece to bring awareness to the issue that horrific crimes don’t just stop with the victim. These things can break a household, and unfortunately my home was subject to that. Living with someone that has PTSD can be just as damaging for you as it can be for the direct victim. As you’re the primary person that is the “fall back”.
I myself have told Dad that late 2014 to the end of 2015 were some of the darkest times in my life. The cruel and barbaric actions of one individual ruined my once close-knit family, and it wasn’t until the verdict was delivered on the 27th of May 2016 that we began to slowly start to rebuild a “normal life”.
Catch up on the full Witness part II episode here:
