Bonita Vivien Coue charged with murder of estranged husband Kerry Michael Rooney in Newmarket on Wednesday night
A woman accused of murdering her estranged husband allegedly ambushed him outside his Newmarket apartment before spraying him with bleach, stabbing him multiple times and slitting his throat.
Police & Courts
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The woman accused of murdering her estranged husband in an alleged ambush attack outside his home has been identified as Bonita Vivien Coue.
Police will allege Coue, 53, slit Kerry Michael Rooney’s throat after ambushing him at his apartment at Newmarket in Brisbane’s north about 7pm yesterday.
Mr Rooney, 51, a senior test analyst who worked for the Department of Education, was allegedly found with a knife stuck in his back as well as multiple stab and knife wounds on his body, including defensive wounds.
Coue appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court this morning charged with murder, two counts of assaults occasioning bodily harm and going armed as to cause fear.
Police will allege the Hungarian-born Coue caught a bus to Mr Rooney’s apartment on the night of the attack with a bottle of bleach, two kitchen knives and a toy gun.
Police will allege she lay in wait in the stairwell of his apartment complex.
Mr Rooney arrived home when Coue allegedly attacked.
Police will allege she told police she first sprayed Mr Rooney in the face with pure bleach which saw him turn and yell where she’s accused of stabbing him in the back.
The knife was still found in his back when emergency services arrived.
Mr Rooney has then yelled for help and tried to use his mobile phone.
Police will allege she followed and continued to cut and stab him.
According to police, a neighbour tried to intervene using a baseball bat to convince her to stop.
Police allege Coue pointed the toy gun at him prompting him to flee.
After Mr Rooney has fallen to the ground in the middle of the street, police allege she has slit his throat.
The couple split in 2013.
Police will allege Coue had been watching Mr Rooney for two weeks in the lead up to the incident.
Coue was self represented in court this morning stating she did not want to pay for a lawyer even though she was repeatedly told by Magistrate Rosemary Gilbert that Legal Aid was free.
When the charges were read out she said: “May I say the first charge is true ... and the fourth one (going armed as to cause fear) was self defence.”
Ms Gilbert cut Coue off asking if she wanted to see the Legal Aid duty lawyer.
“I can’t afford it ... she’s spruiking for business for Legal Aid ... the bill comes later,” Coue said.
Ms Gilbert told her this was incorrect.
One of the charges of assaults occasioning bodily harm related to the alleged spraying of bleach at the neighbour.
The matter was adjourned until July 12.
Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming described the scene as “distressing and abhorrent”.
He said there were no current DVOs between the parties and police were “not alleging any recent events that were known to police”.
“My understanding is the male victim had no reason to suspect he would be set upon last night and in all respects (we will allege) this was brutal and unforeseen by the victim and tragic in all regards,” he said.
A nearby neighbour, Hugh Cochrane, witnessed the man following the alleged murder.
“There was a lot of commotion, yelling, screaming. Very quickly the police came onto the scene. There were a few people around saying ‘stay with me mate’, we just wanted to make sure he was okay obviously,” he said.
Neighbours Beau Jarrett and Timony Cox arrived home within an hour after the alleged murder and were shocked to learn what had happened.
“We came home and saw the street was all blocked off, we saw the body lying there, covered” Mr Cox said.
The couple could not believe that it had happened in the area.
“It’s shocking that something like this could happen here in the street, for sure.
“At first we thought it must have been something off the trains – its normally pretty quiet.”
Police remain at the scene on Thursday morning, with police tape blocking the entrance to the unit complex on the corner of Ward street and Erneton Street, Newmarket.
Around 8.15am a woman parked on Ward street before approaching police, in tears, and entered the police vehicle to speak with officers. The woman was accompanied by a chaplain.
Detectives from Hendra CIB could be seen carrying large bags after combing Coue’s Kangaroo Point property and bins for evidence.
One neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said Coue had bought the Main St property in 1998 and had seemed fine when she spoke with her last week.
A search of Coue’s property records showed she also owns a unit in Nathan, in southern Brisbane.
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