Donald Farquharson deliberately drowns his 3 sons

This must be the worst case of revenge in Australian history. After an outing on Father's Day in 2005, Robert Donald William Farquharson deliberately drove his three sons into a dam and left them to drown to get back at his wife. Although he managed to get out of the car himself, he made no attempt to rescue them.


After nearly five years and two trials, a jury this afternoon found the 41 year old guilty of killing Jai 10, Tyler 7 and Bailey 2 on September 4 2005 by driving into a Winchelsea dam and leaving them to drown. His only defense was that he had a coughing fit which caused him to lose control of the car which left the road, crashed through a fence, crossed a paddock and plunged into a dam. He said he had blacked out and woke up in the dam.

His first conviction in 2007 which led to a life sentence with no parole was overturned by the Court of Appeal. Today's verdict came after an 11 week re-trial and three days deliberation by the jury.

Farquharson met his future wife Cindy Gambino in February 1990. In 2006 he took a redundancy package from his employer and bought a lawn-mowing franchise. They married in 2000 and had three children together by 2002. The pair separated amicably in 2004. Farquharson suffered bouts of depression and sought the assistance of a psychologist and later a psychiatrist to deal with the separation. He was prescribed the anti-depressants Zoloft and later Avanza.

The generosity of the mother of the boys astounds me. Cindy Gambino told the court she did not believe Farquharson intended to kill their children and said "I believe with all my heart that this was just an accident and that he would not hurt a hair on their heads."

Sageant Glen Uruhart gave evidence that the steering wheel of Farquharson's vehicle would require a 220 degree turn to veer as it did on the highway to leave the road. There was no evidence of braking before the car entered the dam. The vehicle's headlights, heater and ignition system were all in the 'off' position. The body of the oldest child Jai was found protruding half way out of the vehicle's front door. The other boys were discovered in the back seat.

Greg King, a bus driver, testified that he recalled a conversation with Farquharson two months before the accident outside a fish and chip shop. He said his friend spoke of seeking revenge on his ex-wife and of wanting to "take away the things that mean the most to her", meaning the children.

Another witness Shane Atkinson who discovered Farquharson on the side of the road, said he twice refused to call the 000 emergency number, preferring instead to travel to Winchelsea to tell his wife of his children's fate.

Associate Professor Matthew Naughton, a specialist in sleep and respiratory medicine, told the jury it was highly unlikely Farquharson had suffered a coughing fit in the moments before the accident. He further testified that coughing to the point of blacking out is an extremely rare condition, known as cough syncope and that he was unlikely to have suffered such an attack while driving, given the warmth of his vehicle.

The day before the verdict came in, Farquharson arranged for flowers, three red tulips, to be laid at the grave of his sons. Attached was a card reading 'Dear Jai, thinking of you on your birthday, love you, dad'. Jai would have turned 13 on that day.

After 3 days of deliberations, the jury found him guilty on 5 October 2007 and on November 16 he was sentenced to three terms of life imprisonment without parole. Protesting his innocence, he said that he would appeal and on December 17, his conviction was unanimously overturned by the three appeal judges and on December 21, he was granted bail and released into the care of one of his sisters.

After learning of the re-trial, a shock new witness came forward with damning claims that Farquharson had not been coughing moments before his car veered off the road. Motorist Dawn Waite told the jury that he was not coughing but was driving slowly and veering left and right moments before he swerved into the dam. She had not come forward with her evidence earlier because she had been ill battling cancer.

At the end of the day, his ex-wife said that after the evidence of the new witness, she finally believed that he was guilty and was pleased that justice was finally done for her three little boys.

Edit 7 December 2012:  Three Victorian Court of Appeal Judges today dismissed Farquharson's final appeal against his conviction and he will be in prison for the rest of his miserable life.