Waikato Law Review 2 1994 : 41-46

This article provides a detailed narrative and commentary on the facts of the Bristol case. It is based on extensive discussions with Christine Bristol, the mother of Tiffany, Holly and Claudia Bristol. Her three children were murdered by their father, Alan Bristol, who then killed himself. A report (known as the Davison report) that inquired into the Family Court proceedings relating to the couple made some suggested recommendations of which there were a number of criticisms, one being that not enough factual details were provided in the inquiry. The main aim of this article is to fill in the gaps about the violence in the Bristol relationship. It also discusses the children's exposure to such violence and the circumstances under which Christine Bristol entered into consent orders with her husband. Another aim of the article is the on-going attempt of the authors to analyse and redefine paradigms concerning domestic violence shared by some judges, police, psychologists and members of society at large - a paradigm that minimises, trivialises and makes invisible spousal violence.