‘He’s not coming home’: Words that shattered slain cop’s wife
Police have charged a 24-year-old woman with the murder of Senior Constable David Masters after raiding a home north of Brisbane overnight.
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Police have arrested and charged a woman with the murder of Senior Constable David Masters.
Police raided an address in Upper Caboolture where they found the 24-year-old Morayfield woman, who police say was the passenger of the stolen car which killed Senior Constable Masters.
The woman has been charged with one count each of murder, arson and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.
Her bail has been refused and will appear in Caboolture Magistrates Court on Monday.
It comes after, in the early hours of Saturday morning, senior police and colleagues of Snr Cnst Masters had to knock on the door of his family home to deliver the news to his childhood sweetheart, wife Sharon, that Dave wouldn’t be coming home.
The senior constable, husband and father was struck by a car and killed while on duty early on Saturday morning.
It was just after 3am and the people who killed the much-loved officer were driving a stolen car at speed along the Bruce Highway, and Constable Masters, an experienced cop, was laying out some tyre spikes at Burpengary to stop them.
He and his partner had been tasked to stop the duo in the stolen hire car, who were on a spree across north Brisbane after stealing the SUV from Ipswich days earlier.
Last night a manhunt was under way, with homicide detectives taking the lead to find the cowardly driver and a passenger, who police say they believe intentionally drove at 53-year-old Constable Masters, leaving him lifeless with his devastated partner by his side on the side of a busy highway.
An emotional yet defiant Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll honoured her much-loved colleague as she vowed to catch the person or persons responsible.
“The homicide squad will lead this and I know they will do an exceptional job and ensure that they be brought to justice,” Commissioner Carroll said. “My message is … you come to us, because we will actually be coming to you very shortly.”
Commissioner Carroll said she had spent the morning with Constable Masters’ colleagues at Deception Bay Police Station, where the dedicated officer with 10 years experience in the service will tragically never return.
“Police officers are very close, it’s one big family, and (Saturday was) a very tough day for everyone,” the police chief said. “Dave was much loved by everyone at the station and the wider community.”
Commissioner Carroll detailed the moment Sharon was told of the death of her husband.
She had been woken by two local senior police, who were tasked with delivering the life-altering news.
“It’s one of those knocks at the door that you never want to receive, and that’s exactly what happened (Saturday) morning,” Commissioner Carroll said. “(They’re) clearly very upset, and also they’re such good people, they were concerned about David’s colleagues and how they were travelling as well.”
Another Queensland woman, who understands the Masters’ family pain all too well, reached out in support on Saturday night.
“I’m so, so sorry Sharon and Jack for losing your wonderful husband and dad. Here for you both. Brett will welcome you and take care of you up there, Dave. RIP,” wrote Susan Forte, the widow of Toowoomba cop Brett Forte who was killed on the job.
Letting tears roll down his face, Queensland Police Union (QPU) general secretary Mick Barnes spoke about the moment colleagues learnt their mate had died.
He said Constable Masters, who had spent several years in the QPS’s mounted unit, “lived for the job and was dedicated”. He had worked as a mechanic before joining the force in 2011.
“This incident once again highlights the inherent danger involved in all police work,” he said.
Mr Barnes said officers put their lives on the line every time they began a shift.
“The events of last night remind us that our job as police is always dangerous. It never stops, and it comes at a heavy cost to us all,” he said.
“We know that when we leave home to go to work each day, there are never any guarantees we will come home at the end of the day.
“Dave’s life has been cut tragically short for one reason and one reason alone: for simply doing his job, and we Queensland police remember and honour him.”
QPU president Ian Leavers said the union’s focus now was on “supporting Dave’s family, his colleagues and ensuring that the police who are conducting the homicide investigation do everything they can to apprehend the people involved”.
Constable Masters and his high school sweetheart had posed together in photos they had overplayed with imagery of National Police Remembrance Day.
In two photos of the loving couple posted online on the annual day in both 2018 and 2020, the pair stood side-by-sideside – their arms wrapped around each other.
From now, however, Sharon will be forced to remember her husband as another officer killed in the line of duty.
“I think with partners, when that police officer walks out the door, they know that they’re going to a job where they could be put in a very difficult and dangerous situation,” Commissioner Carroll said. “When you’re at home, particularly through the night, and you get that phone call … you just know those phone calls are going to be horrific news. Sadly it is a job that can be very, very dangerous and high risk and sometimes, as it did on this occasion, it ends in tragedy.”
Two investigations have now been launched into Constable Masters’ death.
A homicide investigation headed by detective Superintendent Craig Morrow was commenced at Caboolture Police Station, while a separate investigation into the circumstances of the police response, plus the overall safety of the tyre-spiking device, is also under way.
Investigators on Saturday were one step closer to catching the driver of the stolen white Hyundai Kona, which was found before midday burnt out and dumped on the side of the road near Moodlu, outside Caboolture.
The car, according to Superintendent Morrow, had been hired from Ipswich on June 22 before later being reported stolen when it was not returned on time.
He said it was unclear whether the driver behind the wheel when Constable Masters was killed was the same person who hired the vehicle, however he said that was the first line of police inquiry to catch the officer’s killer. Superintendent Morrow confirmed detectives were treating the death as intentional.
“We’re treating it as a homicide,” he said. “We will treat it that way from the start, until proven otherwise.”
FAMILY FUNDRAISER
The QPU has set up a remembrance fund for Constable Masters’ family.
Donations can be made at QBANK branches.
QBANK: David Masters Remembrance Fund
BSB: 704 052 Account Number: 100204707
Message to appear in account: (donor’s name)
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