The brothers at the centre of the "execution-style" slaying of two Australian police officers were reportedly tangled up in a love triangle several years ago.
Four officers were attending a property in Wieambilla, in the Western Downs region west of Brisbane, on Monday to make enquiries regarding a missing person.
The missing person was Nathaniel Train, 46, who went missing from Dubbo in New South Wales (NSW) in December 2021, but was only reported missing a few days ago.
His brother Gareth, 47, who reportedly owns the property, was there too, along with 45-year-old Stacey Train.
The trio ambushed and shot dead Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, and neighbour Alan Dare, 58.
McCrow reportedly begged for her life as her killer stood over her before shooting her and Arnold dead from close range "in cold blood".
The two other constables Keeley Brough, a recent police graduate, and Randall Kirk, who was shot in the leg, were able to take cover and escape.
Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey were shot and killed by special operations police in a gunfight shortly after 10:30pm (local time) on Monday, following a massive manhunt.
The Guardian reports Gareth's wife, Stacey, had been married to his brother Nathaniel while in their late teens in September 1995.
According to family members The Guardian spoke to, Nathaniel and Stacey were high school sweethearts in Toowoomba.
Both were a part of the independent evangelical church run by the brothers' father, pastor Ronald A Train.
The Guardian reports that after the birth of two children and a few years into their marriage, the high school sweethearts split.
It's believed Stacey went on to pursue a relationship with Gareth. The new pairing reportedly created a rift within the siblings' broader family and went as far as the brothers' father, whose church had strict views on marriage.
The Guardian reports Gareth and Stacey later bought the Wieambilla property where the fatal shooting took place.
Gareth and Nathaniel's father Ronald broke his silence on Tuesday following the death of his children.
"I am not going to share anything with you, you can speculate and make up as much as you want," he told The Courier-Mail.
"I have lost two children. I have already had conversations with police."
A former colleague of Stacey's told The Guardian she had resigned as principal of a school at Proston following the vaccine mandate for teachers.
Gareth also reportedly had a history of posting on conspiracy websites and indicated in Facebook posts he believed COVID-19 vaccines were "not good".
