In handing down his findings at the end of a four-day inquest into last year’s Lockhart district farmhouse tragedy, Mr Barnes said he accepted Mr Hunt’s primary intention was to commit suicide and his distorted logic led him to conclude his children and wife would not cope without him.

“He then set about systematically and cold bloodedly killing each of them, before killing himself,” Mr Barnes said.

“What Geoffrey Hunt did was inexcusable; the absolute worst of crimes.

“It wasn’t premeditated; it wasn’t motivated by malice or to cover up other wrongs but it was completely unnecessary.

“It was the result of an egocentric delusion that his wife and children would be better off dying than living without him.”

4pm: No one would ever know the immediate trigger of events that led to farmer Geoff Hunt shooting to death his wife Kim, their three children and then himself, an inquest into the 2014 tragedy has been told.

The submission was made by Andrew Stone SC, counsel for Mrs Hunt’s relatives, in his closing submission to the inquest.

“I don’t encourage you to make any finding other than that,” Mr Stone said on the question of the manner of death of the five people.

In her closing submission, counsel assisting the coroner, Dr Peggy Dwyer, told State Coroner Michael Barnes he would have no difficulty in finding the shootings was a spontaneous act but the pressures had been building up for some time.

After hearing four days of evidence at the Wagga courthouse, Mr Barnes will hand down his findings at 12pm on Friday.

Read more here.

1.30pm: Emotional tributes to the Hunt family have been delivered by heart-broken relatives and friends at an inquest into the shooting deaths of the Lockhart district family just over a year ago.

Kim Hunt’s mother, Heather Blake, said she had lost interest in almost everything, while her sister, Jenny Geppert, said the tragedy had transformed her life forever.

Geoff Hunt’s brother, Allen, and sister-in-law Renae said in a statement read by their friend Melissa Bebber they could only imagine the despair, pain and isolation he must have felt.

Mrs Hunt’s cousin, Jane Blake, complained of the “obvious ineffectiveness of our mental health system”.

The inquest has heard a lot about the physical and mental health support given to Mrs Hunt after her near-fatal car crash in 2012 that left her with a traumatic brain injury and other disabilities that frustrated her and affected her moods.

“Unfortunately, the balance of support was unequal. We consider this to be a significant contributing factor towards this tragedy,” Ms Blake wrote.

A friend of Kim Hunt, Noreen Richards, said Mrs Hunt’s brain injury never changed her empathy and compassion towards people.

Choking back tears, Mrs Geppert said to members of Mr Hunt’s family sitting only a few metres away in the Wagga courtroom: “We have all suffered enough from this tragedy. I hope we can all consider each other with mutual respect and fairness in times to come”.

The inquest will resume at 2pm with submissions from counsel assisting the inquest, Dr Peggy Dwyer, Andrew Stone SC representing Mrs Hunt’s relatives and Elizabeth McLaughlin representing Lifestyle Solutions, which provided domestic care for the Hunt family after Mrs Hunt returned home from hospital after her crash.

12pm: A forensic psychologist has told the inquest it is her opinion that Geoff Hunt’s primary intention was to commit suicide and that killing his wife and three children was a secondary intention formed from “pseudo-altruistic” thinking that taking their lives would save them from further pain.

The inquest is about to hear victim impact statements from bereaved families.

The officer in charge of investigation, Detective Sergeant Darryn Gunn, went back into the witness box this morning and ruled out the possibility Kim Hunt shot her children.

He cited mainly physical factors that would have prevented Mrs Hunt from firing a shotgun used in the killings, as well as other crime scene evidence.

8.30am: Victim impact statements from bereaved relatives of the Hunt family are expected to be presented today at the inquest into the shooting deaths of Lockhart district couple Geoff and Kim Hunt and their children Fletcher (10), Mia (8) and Phoebe (6).

There will be also be further medical evidence before the officer in charge of investigating the September, 2014, tragedy, Detective Sergeant Darryn Gunn, is recalled to the witness box to give further insight into the investigation having heard all the oral evidence at the inquest, which started on Tuesday.

State Coroner Michael Barnes, who is presiding over the inquest, has flagged he will deliver his findings tomorrow (Friday)

4pm: Geoff and Kim Hunt engaged in marriage counselling about a year before their violent deaths and also sought counselling for other relationship issues within the family of five in 2014, the Hunt family inquest has heard.

All the professionals who supported the family, however, were blindsided by the events of September 8, 2104, when Mr Hunt is believed to have shot his wife and three children at point-blank range at their Lockhart district house and then shot himself in a nearby dam.

Practising psychologist Kylie Irlam and counsellor Clive Murphy both told the inquest on Wednesday afternoon they held no concerns when they last saw Mr Hunt that he would harm himself or others.

The inquest has finished for the day and will continue on Thursday.

Read more here.

2pm: The managing director of Lifestyle Solutions, which had the contract to provide household support to the Hunt family in the wake of Kim Hunt’s traumatic brain injury, has told the inquest he was confident the support worker who last saw the family alive would have reported any concerns she had about their safety.

“Absolutely,” said David Hogg.

Mr Hogg in his evidence described the worker – Lorraine Bourke – as an excellent worker and exemplary.

In her evidence, Mrs Bourke said the only time she formally raised any issues about the family was once in an email to a manager concerning Mrs Hunt’s handling of her son Fletcher over his ADHD on one particular occasion.

The inquest has broken for lunch.

11.30am: The last person to see the Hunt family alive on September 8 last year has told an inquest about tensions in the household before she left.

“It was like you could cut the air with a knife, it was just very tense,” said Lorraine Bourke, one of the disability support workers engaged with the family to help them with daily chores in the wake of Kim Hunt’s traumatic brain injury suffered in a 2012 motor vehicle accident.

But despite the tension, which was a regular occurrence in the household as a result of the life pressures after the accident, Mrs Bourke told the inquest this morning she did not sense a devastating tragedy about to unfold, with Geoff Hunt believed to have shot his wife and three children after Mrs Bourke left, about 7.25pm.

“What I am very interested in asking you is if you had any suspicions at all something like this would happen to this family?” asked counsel assisting the inquest, Dr Peggy Dwyer.

“No,” Mrs Bourke replied.

She said that night, Mr Hunt seemed depressed.

”He was just very quiet, not answering questions, no emotion on his face, looking at the ground when I asked him anything,” Mrs Bourke said.

Earlier, Mrs Bourke said she had never seen Mr Hunt use physical violence towards his wife, nor did she see Mrs Hunt – who was prone to explosive rages because of her medical condition – become violent with her husband.

Mrs Bourke said when Mrs Hunt became angry at her husband he would just say “that’s enough”.

​8.30am: A disability support worker who was the last person to see the Hunt family alive is expected to give evidence this morning at the inquest into the family’s 2014 shooting deaths. 

Lorraine Bourke saw Geoff and Kim Hunt and their three children on the afternoon and evening of September 8 as she helped the family with home chores.

The last words she heard from the family was from Mr Hunt, who said as she left the family’s Lockhart district farm about 7.25pm: “Goodbye Lainie, thanks, see you tomorrow”.

5pm: The first day of an inquest into the shooting deaths of five members of the Hunt family at their Lockhart district farm in September last year has closed for the day with consultant psychiatrist Dr Patricia Jungfer commenting on the state of Mrs Hunt’s mental health at the time of the tragedy.

The Coroner’s Court earlier heard that Mrs Hunt had suffered a traumatic brain injury in a 2012 car crash and after that had flown into rages.

Responding a question from counsel assisting the inquest, Dr Jungfer said she believed that at the time of her last appointment with Mrs Hunt six days before Mrs Hunt died, her patient’s mood disorder would stay controlled.

Noting the pressures Mrs Hunt was living with – including her significant physical injuries and helping raise three young children (including Fletcher who had ADHD), Dr Jungfer said “she would have to have been a saint not to get angry or irritated”.

The inquest will recommence on Wednesday morning with evidence from the last person who saw the family alive, Mrs Hunt’s personal carer, Lorraine Bourke.

Read more here.

3pm: State Coroner Michael Barnes is being shown the shotgun believed to have been used in the shooting deaths of the Hunt family.

The demonstration is being conducted in a room outside the courtroom where the inquest is being held out of respect for the families of the deceased’s loved ones.

Earlier, a hand-writing expert with the NSW Police Force, Melanie Holt, told the inquest she believed a note found in the Hunt family home after Kim Hunt was found dead was written by her husband, Geoff.

Ms Holt compared writing in the note in black texta to writing in three greeting cards given to Mrs Hunt by Mr Hunt.

“There was nothing in there that I did not see in the specimen samples,” Ms Holt said when questioned by counsel assisting the inquest, Dr Peggy Dwyer.

Ms Holt said Mrs Hunt, who had physical injuries that affected her writing, “just would not have been able to write as fluidly and fluently as on this piece of paper.”

2.30pm: The inquest has been told a note was found in the Hunt family home that read: “I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Totally mine.”

The note was revealed by counsel assisting the inquest, Dr Peggy Dwyer, during her opening address.

The inquest has heard that Kim Hunt was found on a path outside her house by a disability support worker on the afternoon of September 9, 2014.

She had suffered a single shotgun wound to the head.

The bodies of her three young children – Fletcher, Mia and Phoebe – were found in their beds, also with single gunshot wounds to the head.

The body of Geoff Hunt was found in a nearby dam the following day.

10am: A large media contingent has gathered outside the Wagga courthouse for the start of the inquest, which has now been put back to 11am.

6am: An inquest into a shooting tragedy that claimed the lives of Lockhart couple Geoff and Kim Hunt and their three children in September, 2014, will begin in Wagga today.

The inquest will be conducted by State Coroner Michael Barnes in the Wagga courthouse.

It is scheduled to start at 10am.

Ahead of the inquest, Mrs Hunt’s younger sister Jenny Geppert said this week would be a difficult time.

Read more here.

This story will be updated regularly during the inquest. Please refresh your page for the latest updates.

Please call any of the following numbers if you or someone you know requires help:

Lifeline – 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467

Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800

MensLine Australia – 1300 78 99 78