[h=1]Latest from the Age. Clearly he wasn't all there. Feel terrible for the mother.
Mother says Luke loved and trusted his father despite his problems[/h]Victoria DateFebruary 13, 2014 - 3:15PM
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[h=3]Rania Spooner, John Silvester, Mex Cooper and Jessica Wright[/h]
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- Friends shocked at Luke Batty's brutal death
The 11-year-old victim of a fatal bashing in Tyabb has been described as an outgoing boy who was willing to give anything a try.
In the moments before his death Luke Batty had asked his mother Rosie for just five more minutes to play with his dad after cricket practice.
Nobody could have anticipated the horrific events that would unfold between an 11-year-old boy and the mentally-ill father who loved him in those final minutes, a distraught Rosie Batty has explained.
"It was just a normal cricket practice and most of the kids and parents had gone," she said. "Luke came to me and said 'Could I have a few more minutes with my dad?' because he doesn't see him that often and I said 'Yeah sure, ok'.
"There was no reason to be concerned, I had no reason to be concerned, I thought it was in an open environment, that's something I have to understand.
"Luke was killed by his father, we need to deal with that, myself, my family, my friends."
Luke's father, Greg, was shot by police after he bashed his son on Wednesday evening at cricket practice in Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula. Greg later died after being taken to hospital.
Rosie would do anything for him, it was just beautiful.
Watching the incident unfold metres away, Ms Batty initially believed Luke had been injured in a bowling mishap. Ms Batty thought she was watching his father trying to comfort him.
"I looked for help, and I ran towards help and screaming 'Get an ambulance get an ambulance, this is bad, this is really really bad," she said.
"From what I could see Luke had been injured, I thought it was an accident, I had no reason to think otherwise, I thought Greg had accidentally hurt him from a bowling accident.
"I truly believed all of that time that it was an accident and that Greg's anguish was because he had hurt Luke accidentally."
Tributes flow for Luke Batty
Photo: Facebook
Ms Batty had wanted her son to grow up knowing his father. "The court system and myself made decisions believing they were in the best interests of Luke," she said.
"I don't believe that anyone really understood or understands what somebody is able to do and so as a sane person and as a caring parent you trust that the very person who killed him loved him and they did love him, they loved him more than anyone else."
Ms Batty said Greg's life had been "tragic" and that he'd failed to accept help that was offered to him, spending recent months homeless. Despite his issues, Ms Batty said she believed the only threat Greg had posed was to herself, not the son they both loved.
"No one loved Luke more than Greg, his father," she said. "I did what I believed was in the best interests of Luke and I'm comfortable with that - it was a tragic situation that no one could see was going to happen.
"I'm still dealing with disbelief. I want to tell everybody that family violence happens to everybody no matter how nice your house is, no matter how intelligent you are, it happens to anyone and everyone and this has been an 11-year battle."
Luke loved and trusted his father despite his problems, Ms Batty said.
"He felt for his dad, he knew his dad was in a sad place," she said. "Nobody did anything wrong, the police acted the way they need to act and in the past Greg has been confrontational and difficult, the police had no other option," she said.
Only days ago Ms Batty celebrated her birthday, with friends and Luke - they had all been playing by the pool. That's how she wants to remember her son.
"He was funny, he wasn't the best scholar, but he was intelligent, he enjoyed his school at Flinders, he was a little boy in a growing body that felt pain and sadness and fear for his mum," she said.
"He always believed he would be safe with his dad and he would have trusted Greg. This is a tragedy, another tragedy of family violence."
Originally from Britain, Rosie met Greg after she'd arrived in Australia as a backpacker more than 20 years ago. His issues began to mount after the birth of their only child, Luke.
"You're dealing with someone who has always had problems and they start off smaller and over years they get bigger but he's still the father and you know that they love them," she said.
"When I picked that he was potentially at harm he never had access to Luke at home and he was never able to take him."
Ms Batty said there was no way to understand why Greg killed their son.
"He loved his son and everyone I think that's involved with children would know that whatever action they take it's not because they don't love them, what you can't understand is why you would do this and there is no understanding because there is a mental illness that goes untreated," she said.
Ms Batty said she had not spoken with Greg's family since the incident, but knew they would be "devastated" and intended to reach out to them. "They are good people," she said.
Her family were due to fly in the from the UK in the coming days.
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Police said the father had a history of family violence and was the subject of an intervention order to keep away from the family home.
But the order allowed him to visit his son at the Bunguyan Reserve sports oval where the Year 6 student played cricket.
Wally Rachid with his son, Jad, with flowers at the Tyabb football club. Jad, nearly 11, knew Luke Batty.
The interim police investigation indicates the man had a premeditated plan to kill his son and then commit "suicide by cop".
The man known for his violent temper and vindictive nature, according to police, was seen on Wednesday night bowling balls to Luke as junior practice was winding down and the rest of the group were packing up.
Witnesses told police the man then struck his son to the head with a bat. It is believed the blow was fatal.
Flowers left as a tribute to Luke Batty at the Tyabb cricket ground.
Photo: Penny Stephens
Police suspect it was a deliberate plan and he was waiting until the boy was separated from adults before he acted. There were no initial indications of an argument or dispute before the attack.
The man chose to leave his car at home and take the train to training.
Witnesses said the man screamed at police to kill him before running at one officer who fired the fatal shot.
Click for more photos[h=4]Boy dead, police shoot father in Tyabb[/h]People deliver flowers to the Tyabb Football ground.
Photo: Penny Stephens
Investigators say it is possible the man lured his son away from the group to the nets after training was finished with the promise of extra batting practice.
The incident happened around 6.30 pm, nearly 30 minutes after training finished.
After the boy collapsed the man is believed to have attacked the boy with a knife.
Rosie Batty talks to the media about her son and his troubled father who killed him.
Photo: Michael Clayton-Jones
When local uniformed police arrived they ordered the man to drop his knife. The 54-year-old refused and moved towards them.
Independent witnesses, including ambulance officers, called to try and save the boy, said police. They sprayed the man with capsicum spray and retreated to keep a distance between them and the offender. Then they shot him.
"He was chasing them," one witness told police.
The 54-year-old Chelsea Heights man was taken to The Alfred hospital, where he died at 1.30am.
Police were checking a caravan where he lived looking for clues to piece together what happened before the murder.
Luke was his mother's "life", says Gill Metzen, who cared for Luke at the Tyabb Child Care centre for more than three years before he went to school.
"Luke was her life. You would be when you have someone later in life, you cherish every moment and now her whole life's gone, " said Ms Metzen.
Ms Metzen wanted to pay tribute to a boy who she said would be sorely missed by many children in the tight-knit community of Tyabb on the Mornington Peninsula.
"It's been very sad and very tragic. He is going to be missed as his mum has so many friends and they've all got kids and they're associated with him, it's very hard," she said.
"He's only a young little thing but he had a good personality, he was a good kid and Rosie would do anything for him, it was just beautiful."
Ms Metzen said Luke had played cricket, football and basketball and that Ms Batty is active in the local community.
Originally from the UK, she runs a Stufflers franchise that allows children at birthday parties to stuff their own teddy bears.
Luke's Instagram page features a smiling young boy and a Christmas message to his mum. But two months ago he also posted: "Have you ever loved someone but they treat you like crap?"
Flinders Christian Community College's executive principal Jill Healey said the loss was a devastating blow to the Tyabb community.
"The loss of any child is just devastating; there's great grief around the campus today," she said.
Ms Healey said the school is providing chaplains and counsellors to shocked and grieving students, "and we're also receiving support from other churches and school communities".
Tyabb campus principal Maxwell Cuddon said Luke was a "sporty kid who was well-connected to his classmates".
"He loved life, and used to throw himself into anything that came his way.
"This is very hard, for all of us," he said.
Mr Cuddon said it's been challenging to have to tell students of their classmate's death, and to see the students' grief.
"[Luke was] part of a special [class] made up of grades four, five and six... so we're taking care to look after them," he said.
On Thursday morning the school's Australian flag was flying at half mast in Luke's honour.
Luke was also a member of the Tyabb Scouts, and Scouts Victoria chief commissioner Brendan Watson issued a statement on Thursday morning detailing the organisation's distress at his death.
"Scouts Victoria is shocked and saddened to learn of the death of one of our young members," Mr Watson said.
"Our thoughts are with his family and friends," he said.
"We are providing support to the Scout Group where Luke was a member."
Wayne Carter, the boy's former cub leader at 1st Tyabb Scout Group, said the boy was an enthusiastic and determined member of the scouting club and would be deeply missed.
"He was an individual. He had his own way of doing things but he was outgoing, he would give anything a try even if it didn't quite work the first time," Mr Carter told Fairfax Radio.
"He was always willing to help," he said.
"He was just everywhere. He went to everything, he was a major part of the group... He embraced everything he did with gusto."
Danny Latcham and his son Kayden, Luke's football teammate, arrived to pay their respects just before 1pm on Thursday.
Mr Latcham said Luke was a "good kid, a good little footballer and cricketer, and really happy".
Simon Cairns, who visited the oval with his family, carrying a bouquet, said he worked with Ms Batty and that she was "lovely".
"She was just a community member - just an average single mum."
Asked to describe Luke in more detail, Mr Cairns said he found it too difficult so soon after the attack.
"He was someone that we loved and knew, and it's just horrible that it's happened right here next to home, school and kinder," he said.
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