Background
John Myles Sharpe was born 28 February 1967 in Mornington and grew up in that area. Sharpe met his New Zealand born wife, Anna Kemp, when they worked together at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. They married in October 1994. They then lived together in various locations around the Mornington Peninsula area south of Melbourne.
Their daughter, Gracie Louise Sharpe, was born in August 2002. She was born with a condition called hip dysplacia - a congenital abnormality in her hips which required orthopaedic treatment by a corrective harness for the first three months of her life. She cried often and had difficulty sleeping, a situation which appeared to place some strain on the marriage. Even after the harness was no longer required, Gracie still had difficulties in feeding and sleeping for which Anna sought professional assistance.
In 2003 Sharpe purchased a high powered spear gun, along with a second spear, from sports shop Sport Phillip Marine in Mornington. He had not previously shown an interest in spear fishing. He test fired the gun, in the backyard of their home in Spinnaker Rise in Mornington, to become familiar with its operation. Soon after, in September 2003, the Sharpes purchased the house at 116 Prince Street, Mornington.
In about November of that year, when Gracie was about 15 months old, Anna became pregnant again. Sharpe later told police investigators that this pregnancy came as a surprise to him. Sharpe apparently decided that he did not want another child - in his mind, one was enough of a burden - and he began to resent Anna and the unborn child.
Read more about this topic: Sharpe Family Murders
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