Mother of man who shot himself reveals who she blames for his death


Michael Burdon's grieving mother has given a chilling insight into the moment he shot himself dead after being questioned over the disappearance of his wife Tanja Ebert.
Marlis Burdon was inside the Manna Hill homestead at the time.
In an exclusive interview with Seven News, she blames the police for his death.
Marlis Burdon is struggling to make sense of what happened at Manna Hill. Source: 7 News
She is now back home at her waterfront shack on the Eyre Peninsula, but she still struggles to comprehend what has happened in the past four weeks.
In the blink of an eye she lost her son and daughter-in-law in the most horrific of circumstances.
Mrs Burdon has lost her son and daughter-in-law in the most horrific of circumstances. Source: 7 News
"Empty - I think that's probably .... hollow is probably the only words to describe that," Mrs Burdon told Seven News.
On Wednesday August 16, eight days after Tanja Ebert went missing, Major Crime detectives swarmed the family sheep station and grilled her husband, Michael Burdon, for hours.
Michael Burdon shot himself eight days after Tanja Ebert went missing. Source: 7 News
His mother was there looking after the couple's two young boys.
She said when Michael insisted on having his lawyer there, detectives took him outside to begin searching the property - and that is when he snapped.
"He said he needed to go to the toilet," Mrs Burdon said.
"And he left, somehow managed to get a gun and ammunition, ran further away from the station and then somebody heard a muffled shot - we didn't hear the shot."
"Somehow he managed to get a gun and ammunition," Mrs Burdon says of the day her son was questioned by police. Source: 7 News
Paramedics were called, but Michael Burdon could not be saved.
"The policeman came in and said, 'sorry to have to tell you like this, but your son is dead'. That was the most horrible thing."
She says Michael's half-brother had tried to step in.
"He asked the police whether he could talk to Michael and calm him down, but they said no," she said.
A Commissioner's inquiry was launched immediately after Michael Burdon's death.
Tanja Ebert and Michael Burdon. Source: 7 News
Scrutinising the actions of the officers on the property that day, Marlis Burdon is eagerly awaiting the findings.
"How did he get access to anything?" she said.
"A gun with ammunition?"
She hopes lessons can be learned so that no family has to endure the devastation that hers is dealing with right now.
Back home on the Eyre Pensinsula, Mrs Burdon awaits findings from a Commissioner's inquiry into her son's death. Source: 7 News

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