Man charged with murder after woman’s body found in front yard of The Gap home
Dramatic footage has captured the moment a man accused of stabbing his mother to death was arrested by police at the Brisbane International Airport. WATCH THE VIDEO
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Police allege a man murdered his mother in a horrific killing in suburbia before being arrested at Brisbane International Airport.
Alexander Clive Webb, 40, has been charged with the domestic violence murder of his mum, Cecilia Webb, 79, at The Gap on Monday evening, with police alleging he had bought a plane ticket and was attempting to travel to Tokyo.
The Courier-Mail understands Webb was staying with his mother at the time of the alleged stabbing, but has been residing in Victoria.
Ms Webb was found unresponsive and declared dead in the front yard of her home in Chestnut Place. It will be alleged she was stabbed to death.
Insp Jones said police would allege Webb left the Gap in an Uber and went to an address in South Brisbane, before catching a second Uber to the airport.
He was arrested was at the front entrance of the international airport.
The flight was booked after the alleged murder.
Insp Jones said investigators did not know of Webb having any links to Tokyo.
“His exact motivation of going to that location, I’m unsure of,” he said.
Insp Jones said investigators believed Webb was heading towards the airport area and had sent resources and notified the Australian Federal Police.
“We provided them with a picture of that person and then further along we realised he was actually at the airport,” he said.
“And as a result of patrols conducted by both QPS and AFP, that male was located and arrested.”
Dramatic footage of Webb’s arrest, released by police, shows multiple officers pinning him down outside the Brisbane International Airport terminal and placing handcuffs on his wrists.
Webb’s hands appeared bandaged and bloody as officers took him into custody.
Footage showed him dressed in a cap and wearing a backpack, with his suitcase nearby.
Local residents told The Courier-Mail that the murder accused washed his hands at a tap outside a Parkside Crescent home before he was bandaged up by another resident on the same road.
Forensic officers could be seen examining that tap on Tuesday morning as well as lamp post directly across the road.
The homeowner said there was a small pool of blood on the concrete below the tap.
The homeowner, Brian Say, said he thought kids on the way home from school had cut themselves and washed the blood away with his outdoor hose.
“I hosed the blood away,” he said.
However specks of blood were still visible on the hose on Tuesday morning.
Mr Say said his next door neighbour who bandaged up the murder accused said he had a cut on his hand.
Insp Jones said Ms Webb was found in the front yard of the home. Investigators believed most of the incident happened in the front yard.
He said the injuries to Ms Webb were “quite horrific”. She was stabbed in different areas on her body, he said.
“She was stabbed multiple times, probably important to point out the scene itself was quite horrific,” Insp Jones said.
“I’ve been an investigator for over 20 years and it was one of the worst crime scenes I’ve seen.”
Insp Jones said police would allege Ms Webb was stabbed with a Japanese cooking knife, which investigators believe her son had recently bought.
He said police believed Webb went to his mother’s home with the knife.
When asked if Ms Webb tried to defend herself and fight back, Insp Jones said: “Certainly some of the wounds she received were defensive wounds, so yes.”
Insp Jones said multiple units including Polair, dog squad, general duties, and tactical crime units were involved in the rapid response after the murder.
He said Webb was staying at an address in South Brisbane, and it was unclear why Webb was in Brisbane.
“That part of the history leading up to what happened yesterday is still under investigation,” Insp Jones said.
“He does have a fairly recent address in Victoria, how long he has actually been in Brisbane.”
Insp Jones said investigators were still examining the lead-up to the murder.
He said witnesses who had spoken to police had not indicated that there was any “ongoing issue” or that Webb had been at the address for a long time.
Insp Jones said Webb refused to be interviewed by detectives.
He said there were five crime scenes, including two local homes, which made the investigation more complex.
“One resident he went to, they didn’t understand what had happened and they offered him some first aid treatment because he had an injury to his hand.
“He then left that location and went to another address where he used a hose and washed himself down.”
Insp Jones said siblings of Webb had provided background information in relation to him.
Insp Jones appealed for people to come forward if they knew any information relating to Ms Webb or her son.
Floral tributes have been gathering out the front of Ms Webb’s home.
Ms Webb’s neighbour Ross Parker said she’d lost her husband about 18 months ago and was living alone at the time of her alleged murder.
“She had been here a long time,” he said.
“Everyone was kind of rallying around her in the street to help her with shopping, gardening.”
Mr Parker said Ms Webb spent “most of her days gardening, looking after her yard”.
“So what’s happened to her and where it has happened … how confronting that is, it’s a real shock,” he said
“(Her son) had been staying with her previously, particularly after the husband passed away … he’s got a young family.
“I didn’t believe it, that it could happen in this neighbourhood in particular … so close to home obviously and to happen to such a lovely lady, it just didn’t make any sense.
“There was a lot of commotion yesterday with the manhunt.
“The helicopter was circling, I ended up staying around the corner at my mother-in-law’s place and between here and there was cop cars going up and down every street, looking between all the different houses trying to find this guy.
“We didn’t know enough at the time about who this person was, whether it was a random person or a relative … it was just a like movie.”
Emergency services were called to the property about 4.25pm Monday.
A weapon was allegedly found at the scene.
The incident sparked a major manhunt across the suburb with multiple police vehicles descending on a street near Corramulling Park about 5pm.
Mr Webb was subsequently found by Australian Federal Police at Brisbane International Airport and taken into custody about 6.25pm.
He was later charged with murder (domestic violence offence).
LNP candidate for the federal seat of Ryan Maggie Forrest posted on Facebook overnight that she was “devastated” by the killing of Ms Webb.
“To family, friends and neighbours of Cecilia and to our community, this is not ok,” she wrote.
“All women should be able to feel safe and most importantly, safe in their own home.
“Yet, violence against women continues to be a scourge on our community, everywhere.
“To our first responders, thank you. We have a lot of work to do. This is not the future we want for our children.”
Detective Acting Inspector Michael Jones spoke to media on Monday night to reassure the public there was no threat to safety.
Police said it was unclear how the man made his way to the airport.
Chestnut Place was last night cordoned off with police vehicles blocking entry to the street with a crime scene established.
Police on Tuesday afternoon, packed down the crime scene, removing the tape blocking off the address where the alleged stabbing occurred.
The matter against Webb was briefly mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning and adjourned to April 22.
He made no appearance and was represented by Legal Aid duty lawyer Rachael Jackson, who asked for the matter to be adjourned to April 14.
Originally published as Man charged with murder after woman’s body found in front yard of The Gap home
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