In 1991, as a result of no longer being allowed to have animals at the house, Harvey and Bryant moved together onto a 29-hectare (72-acre) farm called Taurusville that she had purchased in Copping, a small township.
It would be unsafe to allow Martin out of his parents' control". Martin tells me he would like to go around shooting people. Around this time, Bryant was reassessed for his pension and a note was attached to the paperwork: "Father protects him from any occasion which might upset him as he continually threatens violence. The couple began to spend most days shopping, usually after having lunch in a local restaurant. Harvey now invited Bryant to live with her in the mansion and they began spending large amounts of money, which included the purchase of more than thirty new cars in less than three years. Ī cleanup order was placed on the mansion and Bryant's father took long-service leave to assist in cleaning the interior.
Hilza Harvey died several weeks later at the age of 79. In June 1990, someone reported Harvey to the health authorities and medics found both Harvey and her mother in need of urgent hospital treatment. Harvey, who lived with her mother Hilza, befriended Bryant, who became a regular visitor to her neglected mansion in New Town and assisted with tasks such as feeding the fourteen dogs living inside the house and the forty cats living inside her garage. In early 1987, when Bryant was 19, he met 54 year-old Helen Mary Elizabeth Harvey, heiress to a share in the Tattersall's lottery fortune, while looking for new customers for his lawnmowing service. Furthermore, finding that he did not display signs of schizophrenia or a mood disorder, Mullen concluded, "Though Mr. Bryant was clearly a distressed and disturbed young man, he was not mentally ill." Bryant was eventually diagnosed with Asperger syndrome while incarcerated at Risdon Prison. Psychiatrist Paul Mullen, hired at the request of Bryant's legal counsel, found that Bryant was socially and intellectually impaired. While awaiting trial, Bryant was examined by court-appointed psychiatrist Ian Sale, who was of the opinion that Bryant "could be regarded as having shown a mixture of conduct disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity and a condition known as Asperger syndrome". In an examination after the massacre, forensic psychiatrist Ian Joblin found Bryant to be borderline mentally disabled with an I.Q. Could be schizophrenic and parents face a bleak future with him." Bryant received a disability pension, though he also worked as a handyman and gardener. Only his parents' efforts prevent further deterioration. When leaving school in 1983, he was assessed for a disability pension by a psychiatrist who wrote: "Cannot read or write. Psychological and psychiatric assessments ĭescriptions of Bryant's behaviour as an adolescent show that he continued to be disturbed and outlined the possibility of an intellectual disability. He was transferred to a special education unit at New Town High School in 1980, where he deteriorated both academically and behaviourally throughout his remaining school years. Bryant returned to school the following year with improved behaviour however, he persisted in teasing younger children. After he was suspended from New Town Primary School in 1977, psychological assessments noted that he tortured animals. At school Bryant was a disruptive and sometimes violent child who suffered severe bullying by other children. He was described by teachers as being distant from reality and unemotional. Locals recall abnormal behavior by Bryant, such as pulling the snorkel from another boy while diving and cutting down trees on a neighbour's property.
A psychologist's view was that Bryant would never hold down a job as he would aggravate people to such an extent that he would always be in trouble. In a 2011 interview, his mother recalled that while Bryant was very young, she would often find his toys broken and that he was an "annoying" and "different" child. Although the family home was in Lenah Valley, Bryant spent some of his childhood at their beach home in Carnarvon Bay. He was the first son of Maurice and Carleen Bryant. Martin Bryant was born on 7 May 1967 at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Hobart, Tasmania.