Brothers whose father shot dead their mother and sister raise abuse awareness

TWO BROTHERS whose mother and sister were killed in a domestic abuse attack by their father have written a book about their ordeal.

Luke and Ryan Hart’s lives changed dramatically after mother Claire, 50, and 19-year-old sister Charlotte were shot dead by Lance Hart in a leisure centre car park in Spalding in July 2016.

Hart, 57, then turned the shotgun on himself.

The murders followed years of emotional abuse and control experienced at the hands of the perpetrator and took place days after Luke and Ryan moved their mother and sister into a new home. Now the pair, who have become advocates for domestic abuse awareness, say the often silent problem –described as a “national health issue” – is something they have a responsibility to tell people about.

Luke, 28, said: “The book was written to help us gain control of our perspectives. It also allowed us to gain control and meaning in our lives. In these murders, the narrative is often left behind by the man who’s written a murder note, and then the victims have no choice and no voice and we’ve grown up with that.”

An inquest in October 2016 heard a 12-page murder note was found stored on a USB stick in Hart’s car. Operation Lighthouse, which was also the name given to the police investigation into the deaths, follows the boys’ childhoods as they reflect on past decisions made by their father.

They now understand these decisions, which included a number of house moves, were ways to “create more control and sever support networks”.

Luke said: “We spent our entire lives trying to break our mum and sister away from our dad. We got to that point – we succeeded – and then he killed them. A big challenge for us at that point was that it genuinely felt that there was nothing here for us.”

Ryan, 27, said the book shows how they are trying to “live for our mum and our sister”, by expressing their values and “passion” as they rebuild their lives.