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Megan Rose Hiatt: Boyfriend murdered twins, father in Florida

A YOUNG mother whose boyfriend forced her to hold their five-month-old twins while he shot them dead, before gunning down her father, has opened up about the horrific murder-suicide.

Megan Rose Hiatt, 22, watched as Gawain Rushane Wilson, 28, killed twins Hayden Rose and Kayden Reese Hiatt, and 49-year-old Travis James Hiatt, at a Florida home last Friday.

Wilson then turned the gun on himself, according to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

Hiatt was shot in the head and is in a critical but stable condition at UF Health Jacksonville.

She revealed to her mother from her hospital bed the horrific final moments of her children’s lives.

“‘Mama, he killed them. He killed them in my arms. He made me hold them when he killed them. He made me watch’,” Melissa Bateh told First Coast News, recounting her daughter’s words.

Ms Bateh said Wilson “wanted to destroy” his daughter, adding: “He wanted her to watch it be destroyed.”

She said she believes her daughter was shot five times, crediting God with saving her life.

“He gave Megan the strength to drag her body across the room. She had to crawl through her babies’ blood, then through the shooter’s blood, and to her dad to hear his last words,” Ms Bateh said.

Ms Bateh said Travis Hiatt told his daughter to pass on to her twin brother that he loved him.

“He wanted her to tell her brother that he was the best son ever and he loved him. That was God’s hand,” Ms Bateh said.

The grieving mother said she was troubled by her daughter’s relationship with Wilson, who pleaded guilty in 2013 to strangling another woman before undertaking a domestic violence program.

Ms Bateh said Wilson was controlling, smashed furniture, grabbed her daughter and demanded she lose weight just days after giving birth to their twins.

“As a parent, you know. I knew in my gut their relationship was not healthy,” Ms Bateh said.

Police said they are still investigating the shootings.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the Hiatt family at gofundme.com/meganrosehiatt.

If you, or someone you know, is the victim of domestic abuse, call 000 or view the Reach Out website for a list of services Australia-wide.

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Arica Deslauriers

Update: 2024-05-21