Killer 'lost it' after break-up

Paul Rogers. Photo / Supplied

New Zealander Paul Rogers was unable to cope when his partner left him and took their two kids away.

Friends say he became a loner, alienating his friends, and was living in his car after he followed Tania Simpson, 31, to the Gold Coast from their former home in Inverell, northern New South Wales.

He was only allowed to pick up his children from the grandparents' home, a sign of the bitterness of the break-up.

The 40-year-old was found dead in his stationwagon alongside his 5-year-old daughter, Kyla, after he stabbed to death Ms Simpson and another New Zealander, former Nelson man Anthony Way, 33, in Ms Simpson's Gold Coast apartment.

It's believed Kyla slept through the killings before he abducted her and they both died from carbon monoxide poisoning - possibly before the bodies of Ms Simpson and Mr Way were discovered on Monday morning.

Custody issues are believed to be the reasons for the murder-suicide spree that has shocked Australasia.

Rogers' and Ms Simpson's other child, 20-month-old Bronnson, was staying with grandparents when the murders occurred.

Mr Way was reported to have been in a relationship with Ms Simpson, but it emerged yesterday he may have been in a long-term relationship with another woman until last weekend.

Friends of both men were not sure if he was in a relationship with Ms Simpson. "If he was seeing Tania on the side, we certainly didn't know about it," a friend said. "It may have been that she was having dramas with Paul and Ant went around there as a friend to comfort her."

The friend said the three knew each other for "years", the two men having met on a Gold Coast construction site.

"When Paul and Tania split up, he lost the plot. He alienated his friends and that might have contributed to his mental state."

It was possible he had just been in the "wrong place at the wrong time".

Mr Way's brother Andre Way, and friend Kelvin Heiford, are in Queensland to bring the body home.

Officer in charge Acting Superintendent Tim Trezise said yesterday a dispute over custody of the children was at the centre of the tragedy.

"Information we've received interviewing a number of witnesses is that Mr Rogers was understandably upset and concerned about not having access to his children."

The absence of a suicide note had complicated the investigation, he said.

Meanwhile, Jill Proudfoot, spokeswoman for the domestic violence charity Shine, said the killings of Ms Simpson and Kyla showed all the characteristics of a classic domestic violence murder.

"Paul Rogers, the ex-partner of Tania Simpson, was jealous and obsessed and could not accept the relationship was over."

She said reports the separation and Ms Simpson's new relationship caused the murders have angered those working in family violence services.

"These murders were not 'caused' by the victims' actions," she said. "This was not about distress, confusion or psychological problems. This was about ownership, power and entitlement. The murders happened because Paul Rogers made a choice that if he couldn't be with them, nobody could, a distressingly common scenario in New Zealand and Australia."

Ms Proudfoot said family violence prevention services could help people deal with a relationship break-up to stop them taking drastic action.

- Additional reporting: Courier Mail