# Surviver of Hyde Park bombing kills himself and children



## Welly (2 October 2012)

The solider who was riding Sefton in the Hyde Park when the bomb went off has killed his two children and then himself. I find this so sad.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/newton-stacey-deaths-michael-pedersen-1354602


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## Clava (2 October 2012)

I find it sad, but I cannot forgive him for killing his children.


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## Silent Knight (2 October 2012)

Mental illness is a terrible thing and people of a sound mind could never understand what he was feeling and why he did it.


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## Fools Motto (2 October 2012)

Very sad. A good acquaintance of mine served with him in the household Calvary and to say he is upset is an understatement. He, along with other friends and family of Mike of course.
I hope he is at peace now, but thoughts are with the rest of his family, so tragic.


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## Double_choc_lab (2 October 2012)

I cannot imagine the horrors that he faced on that day and presumably the demons which stayed with him afterwards.  I cannot understand why he killed his own children but then I have not suffered as he has and the aftermath of living through such a trauma I would think would have some bearing.

RIP little innocents and also to Mr Pedersen


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## spike123 (2 October 2012)

this really upset me when I read it. Horrendous. He must have been in a very very dark place to have taken the lives of his kids. RIP all of them. My thoughts are with the childrens mother right now as she must be going through Hell over this.


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## merrymeasure (2 October 2012)

Double_choc_lab said:



			I cannot imagine the horrors that he faced on that day and presumably the demons which stayed with him afterwards.  I cannot understand why he killed his own children but then I have not suffered as he has and the aftermath of living through such a trauma I would think would have some bearing.

RIP little innocents and also to Mr Pedersen
		
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So true. And until we have walked a mile in someone like that's shoes, we will never understand what they went through. I remember that awful event, and how it must have echoed down through the years for him.  Absolutely tragic, and I feel for his family and friends, and of course his wife. How must she be feeling right now? I hope he has found peace at last, and God bless those little children, the innocents in this whole tragic affair.
May they all Rest In Peace.


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## millhouse (2 October 2012)

Yes, may they all rest in peace and God bless.


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## MadBlackLab (2 October 2012)

Double_choc_lab said:



			I cannot imagine the horrors that he faced on that day and presumably the demons which stayed with him afterwards.  I cannot understand why he killed his own children but then I have not suffered as he has and the aftermath of living through such a trauma I would think would have some bearing.

RIP little innocents and also to Mr Pedersen
		
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merrymeasure said:



			So true. And until we have walked a mile in someone like that's shoes, we will never understand what they went through. I remember that awful event, and how it must have echoed down through the years for him.  Absolutely tragic, and I feel for his family and friends, and of course his wife. How must she be feeling right now? I hope he has found peace at last, and God bless those little children, the innocents in this whole tragic affair.
May they all Rest In Peace.
		
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Very well said, again this shows that there is a lack of mental health support and also our armed forces personally i left to suffer after all they have done for our country and queen.


RIP


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## MiJodsR2BlinkinTite (2 October 2012)

This is awful, so sad.

Anyone who's ever worked in the emergency services, like I have, knows only too well that post traumatic stress can lie dormant for years and years, and then it will suddenly explode and people will do all sorts of irrational/violent things. Very often it is a self-harming/suicide issue, but also it can and does unfortunately spill out into situations like this.

Condolences to all involved: family (for whom it must be devastating), plus friends/colleagues etc etc.

But the one thought that occurs to me is that perhaps this poor soul is now re-united with his wonderful brave horse he was riding when it all happened - Sefton.

RIP brave warriors and may the Big Beyond be kinder to you than life was.


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## Twinkley Lights (2 October 2012)

Simply dreadful I have no words


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## GTs (4 October 2012)

Unfortunately I think many of you are far too sympathetic. The notion that this man functioned so well for 30 years after the bombing does not lead me to believe this was delayed onset PTSD. Having worked in an inner city A&E with the clinically insane, people whose homicidal ideation are so dangerous they have multiple policeman at the bedside, I am not unfamiliar with psychosis. To me this was a man who wanted to cause immense pain to his former wife at any and all costs. 

Growing up in Buckinghamshire I had the honor of meeting and visiting Sefton numerous times. Sefton had this aura of greatness about him. Being in his company was like how I imagine meeting the Dalai Lama is. I have been around many great horses, Kentucky Derby winers, prized stallions and olympic show jumpers. None matched Sefton. I am confident that he and his rider are in 2 different places.


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## perfect11s (4 October 2012)

GTs said:



			Unfortunately I think many of you are far too sympathetic. The notion that this man functioned so well for 30 years after the bombing does not lead me to believe this was delayed onset PTSD. Having worked in an inner city A&E with the clinically insane, people whose homicidal ideation are so dangerous they have multiple policeman at the bedside, I am not unfamiliar with psychosis. To me this was a man who wanted to cause immense pain to his former wife at any and all costs. 

Growing up in Buckinghamshire I had the honor of meeting and visiting Sefton numerous times. Sefton had this aura of greatness about him. Being in his company was like how I imagine meeting the Dalai Lama is. I have been around many great horses, Kentucky Derby winers, prized stallions and olympic show jumpers. None matched Sefton. I am confident that he and his rider are in 2 different places.
		
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 Um sorry but maybe his wife caused him immense pain  we dont know how much, but she must shoulder at least some of the blame as when relationships go wrong there are often mindgames and cruelty.. we will never know.... I had a friend who id not seen for a number of years,   hard worker and family man
his wife made his life a living hell over access to the kids,sleeping around and demands for money etc he ended up killing himself and the kids in the car with exhaust fumes , a terrible thing to do but like others have said what help is avalible? and we blokes  find talking problems over hard, do see things in black or white and bottle things up .. so I feel for him it doesent make it right but.........


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## muff747 (4 October 2012)

I too cant forgive someone who kills their children. 
This story has been repeated so/too many times this year.  They have done nothing wrong to deserve the horror they must have gone through - he can't have stabbed both at the same time, he surely can't have been emotionless at the time - they must have been terrified in their last moments poor little mites and poor mother and rest of family.
She may be totally blameless - it could have been him that was the cause of the break up, he may have been violent - WE DON'T KNOW so we shouldn't make judgements about who's fault the break up was.
This is just a massive tragedy, and so so sad.


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## Fantasy_World (4 October 2012)

It is a sad tragedy and one which we will probably never understand. 
I feel it is wrong to be judgemental and to criticise the actions of others especially concerning the act of suicide which this was. 
True he decided to take his children with him which I think is what most people find distasteful. We will never understand the reason why he did this.
People can often not understand their own actions so it is virtually impossible to do so of another, especially those of a stranger.
I do feel sorry for the wife and other family he has left behind though.
His actions will have far reaching consequences for many people for a long time to come.
To be honest I actually feel very sorry for him in that he reached a place so very dark that he decided to not only take his own life but of those of his children.
Mental illness and emotional breakdowns are often horrific things to deal with. 
We can never, ever understand the emotions and thought process of another living being no matter how hard we try to analyse them.
RIP little ones


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## fburton (4 October 2012)

GTs said:



			I am confident that he and his rider are in 2 different places.
		
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Is that a good thing?


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## millimoo (4 October 2012)

GTs said:



			Unfortunately I think many of you are far too sympathetic. The notion that this man functioned so well for 30 years after the bombing does not lead me to believe this was delayed onset PTSD. Having worked in an inner city A&E with the clinically insane, people whose homicidal ideation are so dangerous they have multiple policeman at the bedside, I am not unfamiliar with psychosis. To me this was a man who wanted to cause immense pain to his former wife at any and all costs. 

Growing up in Buckinghamshire I had the honor of meeting and visiting Sefton numerous times. Sefton had this aura of greatness about him. Being in his company was like how I imagine meeting the Dalai Lama is. I have been around many great horses, Kentucky Derby winers, prized stallions and olympic show jumpers. None matched Sefton. I am confident that he and his rider are in 2 different places.
		
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I have to say I agree with a lot of this...
When it was first reported, I had very mixed emotions when I think of what Sefton came to stand for, in terms of his survival.
That man was their father and he murdered his children - something none of us can understand, and fills me with sadness that Sefton is attached to something else so truly awful, and against everything that this horse stood for.
No-one can deny what he went through 30 years ago was horrific, and life changing, but i truly believe this was pre-meditated.
If the press are to be believed, he gave his wife a pair of black eyes, and she'd left him two weeks prior. He said he'd make her pay..... I truly hope, if there is another place, he is not in it with Sefton.


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## Slinkyunicorn (4 October 2012)

I don't think any of us really know the extent of PTSD on a person and how if may effect them and over what time period A lot of our servicemen will have to deal with it and the fallout of the things they have seen for the rest of their lives - whilst many may lead an 'outwardly' normal life there only needs to be trigger to start a downward spiral

Suicide is an all to common option for them


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## Double_choc_lab (4 October 2012)

Perhaps some are too young to remember the Hyde Park Bombing but just to say it was truly  horrific.  The bomb was packed with an estimated 10,000 5" nails - now let your mind imagine the worse and say that this does not have an effect on someone's life.


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## MadBlackLab (4 October 2012)

Slinkyunicorn said:



			I don't think any of us really know the extent of PTSD on a person and how if may effect them and over what time period A lot of our servicemen will have to deal with it and the fallout of the things they have seen for the rest of their lives - whilst many may lead an 'outwardly' normal life there only needs to be trigger to start a downward spiral

Suicide is an all to common option for them

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People who never had any form of PTSD can not even start to imagine how this man felt. Yes killing his children isnt right but none of us knew what was going on in his head.

I dont personally remember the Hyde Park bombings but from my mum telling me what she knew about it, it is distubing. Cant even start to imagine whats going on


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## Slinkyunicorn (4 October 2012)

I do remember the bomb - so does my dad he was in a building nearby at the time and got thrown across the room by the blast It was beyond horrific - I remember the pictures of the dead and injured horses and the soldiers and the general carnage


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## Luci07 (4 October 2012)

I was in France working as an au pair and was effectively caught out by the highly graphic photographs in Paris Match. I don't think the press in the UK printed anything like it and the images have stayed with me.

I will put my hand up and say I don't know enough about mental illness in its entirety to comment except for the obvious. Such a horrible action that he took his children too and that their deaths would not have been easy. I do remember reading some time ago that men who murdered their children would often do it to prevent their wife's having them and hurting them for ever. 

RIP little innocents and I hope their mother will find some peace at some time.


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## Crumpet (7 October 2012)

What pushed him over the edge? we won't ever know his true reasons for taking his own life. This I can understand.
 PTSD or not, relationship breakdown or not, it was a terrible thing to take the lives of his children. He murdered them, stabbed them to death, I can't make excuses for a purely spiteful act. 
I hope there is a Heaven and those little ones are there.


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## Achinghips (7 October 2012)

The psychologist in me says this:

Crimes against a man's own family occur as the result of a build-up of anger, frustration and planning, which undermines the fathers already-fragile sense of self. They dont take failure lightly and cannot tolerate humiliation. Having no way to relieve their stress, they let the steam build until it just explodes into violence. Children and family are generally the easiest target and they have no inner defense against the flow of rage. Once its done, they often return to a sense of equilibrium and if they dont also kill themselves, they often feel much better.

We can see this type of behavior in different scenarios for different reasons and it all seems to amount to the same thing: men who cannot deal with stress and who will need to withdraw every part of themselves from the world.
...........................

The mother and child in me says something altogether against t and c's of this forum.


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## elsielouise (9 October 2012)

Achinghips said:



			The psychologist in me says this:

Crimes against a man's own family occur as the result of a build-up of anger, frustration and planning, which undermines the fathers already-fragile sense of self. They dont take failure lightly and cannot tolerate humiliation. Having no way to relieve their stress, they let the steam build until it just explodes into violence. Children and family are generally the easiest target and they have no inner defense against the flow of rage. Once its done, they often return to a sense of equilibrium and if they dont also kill themselves, they often feel much better.

We can see this type of behavior in different scenarios for different reasons and it all seems to amount to the same thing: men who cannot deal with stress and who will need to withdraw every part of themselves from the world.
...........................

The mother and child in me says something altogether against t and c's of this forum.
		
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I have a friend who is SO concerned her estranged partner may take this route following an earlier attempt on his own life that she is deliberately defying the courts.

The mother in me says she is completely and utterly right. And I think this case is dreadfully sad but -  He. Killed. His. Children.


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