Donna Cox, cousin of Brenton Tarrant, who allegedly killed 50 Muslims at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, has said that he deserved the death penalty for his actions.
She wondered how the once “normal” Tarrant allowed his mind become “twisted” to the extent of murdering people praying.
Cox explained that the 28-year-old Tarrant hails from a respected family in the town of Grafton, a suburb of Auckland City, but has plunged the family name into disrepute after becoming New Zealand’s worst mass murderer.
“Just what he’s putting his family through. That he is from… a very respected family, his mum, his dad, were pretty high in the community here,” she said.
“He wasn’t raised like that, but I’m not here to defend him… If I could ask him – I’d ask him why. How could you do that?
“That’s a twisted mind right there. You’d have to be to be able to do something like that.”
Tarrant’s mother, Sharon, and sister, Lauren, are presently under police protection over fears of reprisal attacks. His father died of cancer in 2010.
He is currently facing one count of murder and Cox believes he should be killed.
She said, “I know what he deserves. He deserves the death penalty for what he’s done. That hurts because he is family.”
Read Also: Police arrest 2 notorious Lekki robbers