Slain mother’s family friend raising money for four-year-old Mostafa

A family friend of slain Tasmanian mother Ellie Price hopes the Hobart community can help him build a trust fund for her bereaved four-year-old son Mostafa.

Ellie Price's four-year-old son Mostafa now lives near Sorell with his grandmother. Picture: Facebook

ELLIE Price’s four-year-old son Mostafa has been left without a mother – but a grieving family friend hopes to ensure the little boy won’t also be left without a future.

Matthew Barr, who grew up at Rokeby near Ms Price’s family, has launched a GoFundMe page with the aim of starting a trust fund for Mostafa.

The body of Mostafa’s mother, 26-year-old Ms Price, was tragically discovered in her South Melbourne apartment last week.

A national manhunt is underway to locate her fugitive boyfriend Ricardo Barbaro, who has links to a well-known mafia family.

Ellie Price's four-year-old son Mostafa now lives near Sorell with his grandmother. Picture: Facebook

Ellie Price grew up at Rokeby and loved riding horses and presenting them at equestrian shows with her mother. She also used to go horseriding on the property of Athol Tollard, her childhood father figure, who was brutally murdered in 2004. Picture: Facebook

Mostafa now lives with Ms Price’s mother, Tracey Gangell, near Sorell.

“Unfortunately a little boy has lost his mum,” Mr Barr told the Mercury.

“She loved her little boy and doted over him. This is about his future.”

Mr Barr said the community of Rokeby, where Ms Price grew up and enjoyed her youth riding horses and presenting them at equestrian shows, was “devastated” by news of her death.

“I knew her from when she was born,” he said, adding he’d grown up with Ms Gangell.

“She was brought up in a loving family. She was a beautiful girl, she had her whole life ahead of her.”

He said Ms Price would often go horseriding on the country block of her childhood father figure Athol Tollard, who was murdered in 2004 – 16 years to the date the young mother’s body was found.

Ellie Price pictured with her son Mostafa. Source: Supplied

Ellie Price. Source: Supplied

Mr Barr described Ms Price as “friendly, funny” and as a young woman who loved to laugh.

“She had a heart of gold – she would do absolutely anything for anybody,” he said.

The campaign for Mostafa comes as Ms Price’s cousin, Rebecca Lehner, has so far raised more than $3700 to repatriate the young woman’s body, so she can be laid to rest at home in Tasmania.

Mr Barr said if the current COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in time, Ms Price’s community would turn out in droves to farewell the “very popular” young mother, who hoped to become a beautician.

“It will be a huge funeral if that’s allowed,” he said.

“She was a young mum who tried her best to try to create a future for her son.”

Originally published as Slain mother’s family friend raising money for four-year-old Mostafa