Man Says He 'Might Have Lost It a Bit' After Killing Son Over Burned Omelet

An Australian man who killed his son with multiple shotgun blasts following an argument over a burned omelet was sentenced to 19 years in prison today (Oct 31).

Peter John Smith, 70, murdered his 30-year-old son Andrew in December last year. The victim, a father of two, was living in his parents' Melbourne home at the time of the incident.

Andrew, who was reportedly making an attempt to get clean from drugs, angered his father after tossing a burned omelet in the backyard. Peter argued it could make their dogs ill. "F**k the dogs, f**k you. You'll be dead in a year," Andrew told his dad, who the court heard had recently had surgery for bladder cancer. They then had a brief fight, news.au reported.

After dinner, the court heard Peter, then aged 69, went to a caravan in the driveway. He picked up a 12-gauge shotgun, loaded it with ammunition and went back inside. He told his wife "I'm going to kill the c**t," before opening Andrew's bedroom door and fatally shooting him.

His son was shot twice, hit through the back and chest and dying "almost instantly" according to news.au. Peter dismantled the double-barreled weapon and told his wife to call the police. In an interview with investigators, he said: "I think I might have lost it a bit."

Justice Andrew Tinney ruled Peter would have to serve 14 years before being eligible for parole, 9News reported. There was a chance he would die in prison, Tinney suggested.

"You took a double-barrelled shotgun to a defenseless man, your son, lying in his bed, from close range," Tinney said. "Yours was a shocking, senseless and inexcusable crime. It is a particular tragedy that Andrew's two young sons will grow up not knowing their father."

Australian media reported that the judge had taken the father's untreated depression as a factor in the case. But Tinney had "struggled" to link his mental health to the murder.

"This was no entirely spur-of-the-moment crime committed in the blink of an eye," the Justice said. "You decided you were going to murder your son, then set about carrying out the steps required to do so." Peter John Smith had no previous convictions, the court was told.