The Waterlow Killings : A Portrait Of A Family

The Waterlow Killings delves beneath the public face of a successful and affluent family, to reveal the secrets and tensions that many of their closest friends could not have guessed.

Anthony Waterlow left his decrepit room in a run-down boarding house at 4.45 p.m on Monday 9 November 2009. By 6 p.m, the 42-year-old was seen leaving another home: his sister Chloe’s in Randwick. He left behind her slaughtered body and that of their father; celebrated art curator Nick Waterlow. The pair had been stabbed multiple times, in front of Chloe’s three young children.

The Waterlow Killings delves beneath the public face of a successful and affluent family, to reveal private suffering that even their closest friends could not have guessed. The story takes us deep into the world of musical, literary and visual artists who defy conventionality, push boundaries and become international celebrities. But behind that apparently glamorous life of the Waterlow’s—with British aristocratic blood lines and Nick’s art world fame—lay a story of love, despair and torment.

Anthony Waterlow’s descent into the pits of a mental darkness began at a young age. Like too many of those who suffer from a serious mental illness, he fell through the cracks. The Waterlow Killings ultimately highlights the issues that confront families coping with mental illness and the failings of the health systems in times of need.

About the Author

Pamela Burton founded her own law firm in Canberra in 1976 and later practised as a barrister at the Canberra Bar. Her various appointments have included Senior Member, Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Chair of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal, member of the ACT Parole Board, ACT Mental Health Official Visitor. She is the author of the unauthorised biography of High Court Justice Mary Gaudron, From Moree to Mabo (2010).