Matthew James Cox held behind bars for alleged mother, baby murder
The traumatised neighbours of Tayla Black and baby Murphy have broken their silence as confronting fresh details emerge and the alleged killer husband‘s case returns to court.
Rockhampton
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The murders that will forever haunt the quiet and tiny lane that is Bean St, Park Avenue came as a shock to several people in the nearby homes for one reason, they heard nothing - no screams, no crying, no noises to alert them to the horror inside.
One neighbour is burdened by guilt for not being able to save her neighbours from tragedy on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 8, when police allege Matthew James Cox allegedly killed his wife and baby.
Holding back tears, they said they heard no screams.
When they walked their dog past the house the following morning, they thought nothing of it.
That changed when police swarmed the property on Thursday, August 10, and began setting up police tape.
Meanwhile, another neighbour was in disbelief that they slept through Tuesday afternoon.
Police initially visited the Rockhampton home for a welfare check after Mr Cox attended the Fortitude Valley Police Station on August 10.
Mr Cox was charged with two counts of murders (domestic violence) on the night he handed himself in.
His matters were mentioned in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, August 21.
He did not appear in court.
Mr Cox was ordered to appear again on October 30 and brief of evidence is to be provided by October 9.
He remains in prison at Brisbane Correctional Centre.
It is also alleged he drove to Rockhampton Airport in his wife’s white MG SUV and flew to Brisbane after the alleged murders.
Police will allege Mr Cox stayed at a Constance Street apartment complex in the Fortitude Valley before he handed himself into police, two days after the alleged murder.
After police attended the Rockhampton home, a crime scene was immediately set up and multiple police, forensic and scientific officers attended the property over the coming days, combing every surface of the home.
A memory card being removed from an outside surveillance camera was photographed by media.
The pair began dating in 2015 and were engaged in November 2018 with the wedding on the Gold Coast in May 2021.
Tayla and Murphy‘s funeral will be at the Rockhampton Baptist Tabernacle on Friday, August 25.
TIMELINE:
2010:
Tayla graduates from St Ursula‘s College in Yeppoon
2013:
Tayla and Matt meet at Rockhampton Flight Centre
2015:
Tayla moves to Allenstown Flight Centre to separate their personal lives from their work lives
2021:
May: Matt and Tayla are married
2022:
April: Matt and Tayla move back to Rockhampton after living in Victoria
(unknown date) Matt attends the Rockhampton Hospital mental health unit
November: the couple purchase the Park Avenue home that becomes the scene of the tragedy
2023:
May: Tayla and Matt‘s baby daughter Murphy Margaret is born
August 8: Tayla and baby daughter Murphy believed by police to have been murdered
August 10: Matt attends Fortitude Valley Police Station and tells police there are two dead bodies in his 7 Bean St, Park Avenue home
August 10: police discover Tayla and Murphy and charge Cox with two counts of murder
August 11: Cox‘s matter was mentioned in the Brisbane Magistrates Court, but he does not appear and cannot apply for bail because of the serious nature of the charges
August 21: set to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court for committal mention
August 25: Tayla and baby Murphy are to be laid to rest at the Rockhampton Baptist Church
*Tayla will be remembered by her maiden name of Black at the request of her family.
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