Dad to spend rest of life in jail after killing wife, kids and mother-in-law

Mass murderer Anthony Robert Harvey has been sentenced to life in prison for the brutal killing of five of his family members in the first sentencing of its kind to be handed down in Western Australia.

The 25-year-old Perth resident appeared in the WA Supreme Court on Friday where he was sentenced to life behind bars with no offer of release, the ABC reports.

In receiving the sentence, Justice Stephen Hall reportedly claimed in court:  “There is no other case that is truly comparable”.

Harvey pled guilty to the murder of his wife Mara, 41, three-year-old daughter Charlotte, two-year-old twins Alice and Beatrix and his mother-in-law Beverley Quinn, 73 in what has been described as a horrific mass murder.

Read more: Father pleads guilty to killing wife, mother-in-law and 3 daughters at home

The family’s bodies were discovered in Harvey’s home in Bedford, Perth, in September last year, after police alleged he used knives and a blunt instrument to kill his wife and young kids – before murdering his mother-in-law the following morning when she came to visit.

He is claimed to have stayed in the home with his family’s bodies for five days after the deaths, before allegedly driving 1,400km to a police station in the Pilbara region and handing himself in.

Mrs Harvey’s sister paid tribute last year, just days after the tragedy, revealing her sibling “loved being a mum”, according to Perth Now.

“There are no words to explain the emptiness and loss that we feeling. Beverley was a kind hearted, caring mother and grandmother and was always there for her family. She loved her daughters and grandchildren, and would have done anything for them,” she reportedly said at the time.

“Mara loved being a mum and she loved her girls. She was so proud of each of them and was doing a great job of raising them Her girls were her world.

Read more: Horror as five family members ‘including 3 children’ found dead at Perth home

“Charlotte was an energetic, bubbly confident little girl who loved people. Alice was outgoing, adventurous and cheeky, while Beatrix gave the biggest hugs. This world is a sadder place with the loss of these five beautiful people but Heaven has gained five new angels.”

Speaking in a press conference at the time of the family’s deaths, West Australia Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Steel said: “This is a tragic event and will have an impact on family and friends, the community, and the emergency services who first responded to the tragic scene.

“It will send a ripple through the community of Western Australia.”

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