A 15-year-old boy will be buried beside the man suspected of shooting him before turning the weapon on himself in a shocking murder-suicide.
Wayne Smith, 58, is understood to have shot his teenage son Noah as he lay in bed at their family home in Yamba, on NSW‘s north coast, last Thursday.
A joint funeral for the pair will be held today, sparking fury from locals.
‘Tomorrow a beautiful young boy will be laid to rest with his father who killed him,’ one Yamba local wrote on social media.
‘Many locals are not attending the funeral as they believe it should be separated.
‘They hate that they just can’t say goodbye to the son alone.’
The local said that while they respected the family’s decision, that other community members planned to boycott the funeral over the burial arrangements.
Investigators found Smith had been stripped of his gun licence and weapons in August, 2021, less than two years before the suspected murder-suicide.
He admitted to struggling with his mental health – including suicidal thoughts – while submitting for a licence renewal, the Daily Telegraph reports.
The Firearms Registry flagged its concerns about Smith’s health and the father was told he’d have to undergo an ‘independent mental health assessment’ before his licence could be reinstated.
He was handed back his licence a little over a year later in December, 2022.
Wayne Smith (left) and his son Noah (right) were found dead at their Yamba home on June 1
Wayne Smith, 58, is understood to have shot his teenage son Noah as he lay in bed at their family home in Yamba, on NSW ‘s north coast, last Thursday (pictured is the funeral notice)
The experts involved in clearing the reinstatement are expected to be called before the coroner as investigations continue.
Police sources said Smith had no other ‘red flags’ or criminal history.
However, his heartbroken elderly mother Glenda said the father had been through a ‘very tough’ couple of years and she was often ‘worried’ about him.
‘It’s too damn hard. I’ve just had the funeral lady here for two hours… He was the most beautiful man on this earth,’ she said.
It is understood Smith was undergoing psychiatric and psychological treatment at the time of the shooting.
A relative of Smith and Noah called police to the family home at about 1.10pm on Thursday after making the grisly discovery.
Smith was well-known in the community having worked at the local Port Authority for 40 years as his family’s third generation worker at the small pilot station.
It is understood Smith (left) shot his son (right) before turning the weapon on himself in an apparent murder-suicide
Smith had his gun licence revoked in late 2021 after admitting to suffering from suicidal thoughts (pictured, the family’s property on Kookaburra Court, Yamba, northern NSW)
In a 2013 interview he said he’d always wanting to work at the port to follow in his father’s footsteps.
‘I’ve got salt in the veins, mate – I never thought of doing anything different, I’ve been working at the port for 27 years,’ he told Clarence Valley News 10 years ago.
‘Dad worked the ports for 28 years. From memory, he started at Ballina [once the second busiest port on the NSW coast] and transferred from there, when it closed, to here.
‘I grew up in the pilot’s cottage up on the hill.
‘I crossed the bar [at Ballina] when I was six months old, my son crossed the bar [at Yamba] when he was six weeks old – that’s tradition.’
Smith was also an avid fisherman, having won the Yamba Lions Family Fishing Festival as part of team in 2016, and bonded over the hobby with Noah.
Noah (above) was a talented footballer and keen cyclist – a hobby he shared with his mother
Photos posted on social media show the pair beaming with delight while holding up a massive metre-long fish on their front yard after a boating trip.
Like his father, Noah won awards for fishing – scoring the encouragement award in Tim the Bream competition in 2017.
Noah was also successful on the sporting field with his under 12s rugby team winning their local grand final in September, 2019.
The Yamba Buccaneers Rugby Club told Daily Mail Australia it was ‘devastated’ by the tragic passing of Noah and ‘our condolences are with his family, friends and former team mates at this difficult time’.
‘Noah found his sporting place in rugby union and was a valuable member of our 2019 premiership winning Under 12s team,’ the club said in a statement.
‘A reserved, quiet child, Noah was well-respected by others players and his coaches, and was renowned for always ‘having a crack’ and doing what he could for the team.
‘The club has offered support to those affected and will pay tribute to Noah at our junior games tonight and Seniors’ game on Saturday.’
Aside from football, Noah was a keen cyclist – a sport he enjoyed with his mother.
Several pictures posted online show the boy and his mother dressed in lycra alongside their bikes during rides together.
Noah’s rugby club described him as a ‘reserved, quiet child’ that was known for always ‘having a crack’ (pictured, Noah alongside his mother in 2018)
Smith’s mother said the distressed father had been through a ‘very tough’ couple of years that often left her ‘worried’ about him (pictured, forensic teams examining the family home)
Coffs-Clarence Police District Superintendent Shane Cribb said the double fatality had rocked the small tight-knit community.
‘I always find it has more effect because everyone knows everyone,’ he told reporters.
‘I’ve got police that know the family, I’ve got police officers’ children that actually went to the same school. When you talk about the effect this has as the whole, it effects a lot more people than we think.’
Superintendent Cribb said his priority was to make sure the matter was thoroughly investigated and those impacted by the tragedy were well supported.
Lisa Flynn, who lives on the same street, said the community has been left shocked by the incident.
‘My partner came home at about 3pm and there were cops everywhere,’ Ms Flynn said.
‘No one had heard anything – no gunshot noises, nothing.
‘You just wouldn’t expect it in this area; there are a lot of retirement-aged people and single mothers here.’
She said she often saw the pair outside working on Smith’s boat together.
Police are still investigating the pair’s death but do not believe anyone else was involved (pictured, the crime scene at the family home)
‘It’s just surreal it could happen so close to us,’ she said.
‘They had a good relationship with each other.
‘I rarely saw the boy go to school, but I’d see them working on the dad’s boat a lot.’
While the investigation is ongoing, police do not believe anybody else was involved in the shooting.
Ms Flynn said although the neighbourhood is horrified by the deaths, they feel safer knowing police believe it was an isolated incident.
When contacted, Port Authority of NSW said: ‘This is a NSW Police matter and is currently under investigation.’
The corporation did not respond to questions over whether support measures were being offered to staff.
A crime scene was established at the home, which will be forensically examined by specialist teams.
A full report will be prepared for the coroner.
For confidential crisis support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14
