‘Devastated’: Young girl witnessed mum’s alleged shooting murder
Detectives say they are yet to locate the weapon, believed to be a revolver, that was allegedly used by a man to kill a Mackay mother on her driveway in full view of two children.
Police & Courts
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A young girl who witnessed her mother’s alleged shooting murder is struggling to process the terrible tragedy, according to those close to the Mackay family.
Natalie Frahm, 34, was shot dead in the front seat of her car in her driveway on Robb Pl in South Mackay, with two children in the car.
Police praised the girls, aged just 11 and 12, for their bravery after they escaped the alleged gunman and ran for help at a nearby home where 66-year-old James “Jimmy” McGill had been caring for his mother.
The hero retiree was shot in the chest after he ran outside to Ms Frahm’s aid.
Mr McGill, who lives half an hour south of Mackay in the sleepy coastal town of Grasstree Beach, remains at the Mackay Base Hospital, in a stable condition.
Police say they are still trying to determine why alleged gunman Ryan Geoffrey Cole, 31, approached his next-door neighbour, Ms Frahm, with a revolver.
Speaking on Friday, Mackay Detective Acting Superintendent Emma Novosel said police had not located the murder weapon.
“The forensic examination of his residence is still ongoing. We haven’t been able to conduct an investigative search at this stage. So at this stage, the weapon in question has not been found,” Supt Novosel said.
Asked whether the weapon was a homemade gun, Supt Novosel said police were looking into all possibilities.
“We’ll be looking into all of those sorts of angles. I’m not able to comment about the weapon.”
Supt Novosel said police were still trying to work out the motive behind the attack.
“We still have a crime scene in place. There’s a number of addresses along Robb Pl that are subject to forensic examination.
“At this stage, the motive for this violent crime is still unknown, but we’re working really hard to look into the background of Mr Cole to find out what his movements were prior to the incident and afterwards so we can establish what may have been a contributing factor.”
The mother-of-two was about to drive the girls to an afternoon sporting event.
Ms Frahm had relocated from Mount Isa to the Mackay region about two years ago with her partner and children. Her family supplied photographs of the young mother, but were too distraught to speak.
Ms Frahm was an avid member of Mang-gon Thai Boxing gym. Fellow member, Tiffany Mulligan, met Ms Frahm more than a year ago and said she reached out to her devastated daughter, who witnessed the shooting.
“I called her earlier, and you know, she understandably, like, she just saw that happen to her mother, so her emotions are not really processing right now,” she said.
“She didn’t really have any emotions, but, like, it’ll come, you know. I’ve been talking to them all day and they’re pretty devastated, that was literally our family.”
Ms Mulligan said Ms Frahm had been working from home, doing administration for her brother’s business.
“She was always sending me videos, so when I saw all the cops and heard what happened I kind of put it together because she hadn’t texted me back for hours and she usually texts me back straight away” she said. “We were best friends, we’d do everything together, she’d braid my hair for fights, she was one of my biggest supporters.”
Ms Mulligan said she saw Ms Frahm every day and she would always push her to be her best.
“I’m just devastated … We would go to town and party and do different stuff, she was such a fun person … and a smile from her would just light up any room.”
A post on the Thai boxing gym’s Facebook said, “Natalie always had the most infectious smile, always helping wherever she could and making close friends”. Members responded in shock and devastation.
“Well loved, greatly respected and will be remembered in the highest regards. A strong woman, loving mother fiercely proud of her children … Always with a smile,” Lulu Mollis wrote. While Evita Fernando wrote, “Rest in peace Nat you are beloved in the community and a wonderful mother, wife, and sparring partner. ️ Hope the family and kids are safe”.
Mang-Gon Thai Boxing gym owner Nicolaas Van Der Zee has started a GoFundMe fundraiser for Ms Frahm’s two children, with nearly $5000 raised in a matter of hours.
“It’s hard enough losing a parent at such a young age but to also witness the events that took place will need a lot of specialist care in helping to cope with what has happened,” Mr Van Der Zee said.
He asked people to donate to help ease the financial burden Ms Frahm’s children will face.
Cole appeared via video-link in the Mackay Magistrates Court charged with the murder and attempted murder of two of his neighbours in a shooting attack that shut down part of the suburb and sparked a frantic manhunt.
He was remanded in custody.
Acting Supt Novosel on Thursday said police did not believe Cole and Ms Frahm, 34, knew each other, despite being neighbours.
“There were two children in the vehicle at the time who fled and sought assistance from a neighbour at a nearby residence,” she said.
“(That resident), a 66-year-old man, approached the man and was also shot. He sustained non-life threatening injuries and is currently receiving treatment at the Mackay Base Hospital.
“Certainly at this stage the motives behind the attack on this woman and man are unknown.
“There will be further investigations that are obviously undertaken to try and determine what has brought about this incident.”
Cole is alleged to have fled Robb Pl in a silver Mitsubishi Triton, resulting in police making an emergency declaration under the Public Safety Preservation Act.
The car was tracked to a BP service station on the corner of the Bruce Hwy and Statham Dr at Paget at 7.45pm where Cole was taken into custody.
“It’s obviously a tragic incident where two young girls have witnessed a violent death,” Det Supt Novosel said.
“I want to acknowledge and commend their bravery for actually managing to remove themselves from such a dangerous situation and raise the alarm.
“It’s incredibly brave and I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma that they must be experiencing.
“The Queensland Homicide Victims Support Group is travelling to Mackay today to ensure there is sufficient support wrapped around that family.’’
A Robb Pl resident said Mr McGill was regularly at the house to care for his 89-year-old mother. They said he was a “great person and a wonderful son”, and had just retired.
Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the shooting was a “horrid situation”.
“A life has been lost by a really terrible act of violence by the (alleged) offender and another person has been seriously injured,” he said.
“That person is in custody so the threat to the community is not there any more.
“We will look really closely, not only at what occurred yesterday but the lead-up to that in terms of this person, his access to weapons and how he might have got that weapon given the circumstances we know now.”
Mr Gollschewski said Cole lost his weapons licence in 2021 and 11 weapons were taken from him at the time.
“That was as a result of his conduct, the weapons were removed and the licence was revoked,” he said.
Mr Gollschewski said police would investigate how Cole allegedly accessed firearms.
“There is a three-year period there where at any time he could have had access to firearms so we will have to investigate,” he said.
Mr Gollschewski said police were seeking additional powers from the government which would allow them to place firearm prohibition orders on people.
He said that police were investigating reports that Cole had access to grenades, but “at this stage there is nothing to confirm that one way or another”.
He said that Cole was known to police but there were no particular warnings, and no history of mental illness that police were aware of.
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