Karina Lock: nothing was going to stop ex-husband from murder
KARINA Lock never stood a chance — her estranged husband Stephen wanted her dead and nothing was going to divert him from his mission.
Crime and Court
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KARINA Lock never stood a chance — her estranged husband Stephen wanted her dead and nothing was going to divert him from his mission.
At 9.20am yesterday Stephen Lock, 57, walked into the busy Helensvale McDonalds, pulled her into a headlock and shot her in the head.
“He was going to kill her,” witness Peter Bolitho said.
“It was as simple as that.”
EARLIER: TWO SHOT AT HELENSVALE MCDONALDS
“There was no expression on his face whatsoever.
“He didn’t care if there were 10 people or 100 people in there — he just didn’t care.”
About 30 people in the restaurant for breakfast watched on stunned as Mr Lock then knelt next to his dying 49-year-old wife, held the handgun to his own head and fired.
“It’s almost like it was staged, because he knelt down next to her before he put the gun to his head,” Mr Bolitho said.
“I think he deliberately fell on to her.”
“He didn’t have any qualms at all about walking in there with a gun.”
Minutes earlier the pair had been sitting together in Mrs Lock’s light blue sedan after agreeing to meet after she had moved away from her partner in Maryborough on the central Queensland coast.
Despite a history of domestic violence Lock managed to convince his wife to meet up.
It is understood she had moved to the Gold Coast about a month ago to make a fresh start with her teenage daughter.
Mr Bolitho said he had walked past the car and noticed the pair arguing.
When he entered the restaurant’s outdoor eating area he heard the first shot.
“I actually walked past his car as I was about to go into McDonalds when I heard what I thought was a Ramset gun go off and I looked around for a construction site and saw them struggling,” he said.
Mr Bolitho and two other men who were standing nearby saw Ms Lock, who had been shot, run to the restaurant entry.
“She yelled out, ‘He’s trying to kill me’ but I don’t think he said anything.”
Mr Lock, of average height with greying hair and gun in hand, stepped coolly out of the vehicle and walked straight towards his wife who was just inside an outdoors eating area at the front of the restaurant.
“The amazing part about it was his expression didn’t change from the first moment I saw him until he shot himself,” Mr Bolitho said.
“He sat in there for a minute and then got out,” he said.
Mr Bolitho said on seeing the weapon, a man called out to Lock, telling him to stay in the car.
“Another bloke was far braver than I was because he indicated to the guy not to get out of the car,” he said.
“When he got in he was fast — he just put his arm straight around her and shot her.
“It’s just horrific.”
Ken Barr and his wife, holidaying from the north of Brisbane, were shocked by the bloodshed.
“It was absolutely horrific,” he said.
“I never want to see anything like that again,”
He said people in the restaurant were stunned and there was no time to react.
“It just happened so quickly,” he said.
“Shock — it was shock — there was nothing we could do.”
Mr Barr said Lock was on the floor when a motorcycle policeman rode up.
“He (Lock) was still moving — he didn’t quite get up on his feet but he was sort of on his knees — there was a lot of blood,” Mr Barr said.
“He had his head on her chest and when the police turned up he just dragged him off her and picked the gun up.”
The policeman started resuscitation on the woman immediately but Mrs Lock died six minutes later, according to paramedics.
One of the couple’s four children arrived with an aunt about 30 minutes later.
A woman believed to be Mr Lock’s sister called to police before breaking down.
“That’s my brother,” she said.
Police allowed them to enter the crime scene.
The daughter was only metres from where her mother lay dead and her father lay in a serious condition.
Police and family managed to keep this from the girl, who was taken away by a detective shortly after.
At 10.05am Mr Lock was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital under police guard.
Last night he was in a critical condition, with doctors saying he was not expected to survive.
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