ABC News (AU)
· collected 2026-09-15 · by Lucy Murray and Tim Swanston
Damien John Shaw, an Australian man living in Bali, died by suicide along with his two children on Sunday in their home in Kuta, according to Bali police. The incident is under investigation as a double murder-suicide, involving the deaths of Shaw's six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. Shaw had recently filed for divorce but later withdrew the case after noticing improvements in his behavior; he was described by friends as having become noticeably thinner recently.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Kuta, Bali, an Australian man, Damien John Shaw (56), and his two young children were found dead in their home on a Sunday morning. Shaw's wife, who was in Jakarta, 1200km away, asked a neighbor to check on them after her calls went unanswered and she heard one of the children crying. Upon arrival, neighbors and local authorities discovered the bodies inside the bungalow. Police are investigating it as a suspected murder-suicide; the father allegedly killed his two children before taking his own life. CCTV footage showed Shaw removing cameras and chasing his daughter, who screamed "I love you daddy." The family's relationship had been strained since 2022 due to arguments over their newborn child.
Written for “Bali Murder Suicide Investigation” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Friends of Damien John Shaw have described their shock and horror after the Australian man apparently killed himself and his two children at their Bali home on Sunday.
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man → describe → Sunday
WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions some readers may find distressing.
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Bali police are investigating what they say is a double murder-suicide, after the bodies of the 56-year-old and his six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter were found inside their bungalow in the popular tourist resort of Kuta.
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bodies → investigate → Kuta
Denpasar City police have interviewed the children's mother, who was in Jakarta with family when the attack unfolded.
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attack → interview → family
She had called a neighbour to perform a welfare check on her family, after she said a call to her husband disengaged and she heard one of her children crying.
'Acts of violence'
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one → call → violence
Denpasar City police said an autopsy would not be carried out on the children at the request of their mother.
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autopsy → say → mother
"Initial external findings suggest the two children died as a result of acts of violence," the police said in a statement.
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police → suggest → statement
Police said Mr Shaw died by suicide.
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Shaw → say → suicide
"From the CCTV there is no indication of another perpetrator," Chief Commissioner Leonard Simatupang said.
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Simatupang → be → perpetrator
He said CCTV had recorded the children screaming.
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children → say → ?
Mr Shaw's wife told police she had filed for a divorce in 2022.
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she → tell → 2022
"The reason was that the husband is temperamental, but later she revoked the case as the husband was showing improvements," Chief Commissioner Simatupang said.
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Simatupang → revoke → improvements
"There is no medical psychiatric record about the man; it had only come from the wife's statement that the husband is temperamental and having high anxiety."
'Gaunt' appearance
Bunbury resident Tania Dagnall said she and her husband had been friends with Mr Shaw for the past 11 years.
She said they had caught up with the man they called "Damo" just three months ago in Bali and immediately noticed his "gaunt" appearance.
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they → be → appearance
"I was shocked looking at him; he didn't look like him when he walked up and joined us for coffee … he was not the buff dude I was used to seeing," she told the ABC.
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she → shock → ABC
"If he has done this, there's no excuse for it, never any excuse for that, ever.
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he → do → that
Ms Dagnall said she was sad that Mr Shaw had not reached out to them.
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Shaw → say → them
"We could have been on a plane," she said.
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she → say → plane
Long-term Bali resident
The ABC understands Mr Shaw was originally from Perth but had lived in Bali for decades and had converted to Islam when he married his wife about six or seven years ago.
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he → understand → wife
To comply with his adopted faith, friends say he stopped drinking alcohol and did not touch drugs.
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he → comply → drugs
He previously worked as an able seaman in the oil and gas industry, but retired from this fly-in, fly-out role to spend more time at home, Ms Dagnall said, often taking the children to school and swimming lessons.
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Dagnall → work → school
"We honestly thought he was living the life, retire to a beautiful place, have a couple of kids," she said.
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she → think → kids
Mr Shaw had several properties in Perth and overseas, including a house in Japan, Ms Dagnall said, which he used as a base for snowboarding.
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he → have → snowboarding
'I can't understand'
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Despite being financially stable, Mr Shaw's marriage had become tense in recent months, friends say.
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friends → become → months
They cannot comprehend how he could have murdered his children.
"
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he → comprehend → children
I can't understand why he would have done such a terrible thing.
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he → understand → thing
It just breaks our hearts," Ms Dagnall said.
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Dagnall → break → hearts
Police said Mr Shaw's body was being examined at Sanglah Hospital.
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body → say → Hospital
Meanwhile, officers are continuing the forensic processing of the crime scene and reviewing CCTV footage from inside and outside the property.
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officers → continue → property
The Aporia
