Father was a ticking time bomb
Father-of-two Glen Richard Dillon was a ticking time bomb. He had no job, a fractured family and was on the brink of losing his home.
The 45-year-old had gone from being an expert in the petroleum industry for Epic Energy, someone well-known for his community campaigning and as a leader of his children's school, to the depths of despair in the space of a few years.
Since August last year, Mr Dillon's only passion - apart from his custody feud with his former wife Susanne - was online encyclopedia Wikipedia, where he would spend hours creating and editing information.
Two days before he and his children died when their car crashed and burst into flames near Jarrahdale, Mr Dillon used Wikipedia to plan what would be his last access visit with Charlotte, 6, and Alexander, 5. He researched the Serpentine Falls area, where the trio were seen on Sunday.
A day before the outing, he entered the WA Family Court reference on the Wikipedia website several times. Mr Dillon described himself as a substantial contributor to Wikipedia's information about the court and even took the site's photograph of the court building.
Other Wikipedia authors posted notices after hearing news of his death. "His work here stands as testament to his quality and dedication," one wrote. "My thoughts are with the family."
But other than the pleasure he got from spreading his knowledge about the gas and oil industry, major Australian disasters and many other subjects, Mr Dillon was sinking fast.
His former wife had signed the family's Bateman home over to him in October 2007 and bought a house in Leeming four days later. Last year, law firm Gibson and Gibson obtained a Property (Seizure and Sale) Order from Perth Magistrate's Court allowing the Bateman house to be sold to recover an $8000 debt. He was believed to be living in the house without power and had a mortgage of $580,000.
A friend of Mr Dillon's, who was contacted yesterday by The West Australian, wouldn't discuss the tragedy.
"We've made a statement to the police and we won't make any statements until further notice," he said.
All of this came as a shock to Melville mayor Russell Aubrey, who knew and respected Mr Dillon during their time together on WA's Save Our Suburbs committee.
"He was one of the nicest guys," Mr Aubrey said. "He was on the P&C at Bateman Primary and was community minded. I couldn't talk about him more highly. This is so tragic. He was the last person I would have thought, at that stage, who would have ended up this way."
But the tributes in death notices in today's The West Australian weren't for Mr Dillon. They were for his children, who he is suspected of killing.
"I can't imagine my life without you," their mother wrote. "The pain is too great. I have loved and cherished you every minute of every day.
"You were my precious darlings, the joys of my life," their grandmother wrote. "You adored each other and will be in each other's arms for all eternity in God's loving care."
And this from Alexander's day-care centre: "Your cheeky grin and energetic antics were the best."
