Matthew Wales, society murders killer, could soon be freed from jail

The killer behind one of the state’s most infamous crimes could soon walk free from prison, with Matthew Wales nearing the end of his sentence for the murders of his mother Margaret Wales-King and her husband Paul.

Matthew Wales - the killer behind one of the state’s most infamous crimes - could be a free man within 18 months.

Wales is nearing the end of his minimum 24-year-minimum sentence for the murders of his mother Margaret Wales-King and her husband Paul at Armadale in 2002.

His earliest release date on parole would be May, 2026.

But remissions granted for days spent in lockdown, particularly those racked up during the restrictive Covid era, could drag the expiry of his term forward to the early months of that year or even to late-2025.

Wales’ sentence has been trouble-free and uneventful, enhancing his chances of seeing early freedom.

Staff have previously told the Herald Sun that he is polite, obedient and helpful.

Wales murdered his mother and Paul King on the night of April 4, 2002, in what would later be dubbed the “society murders”.

Margaret Wales-King.

Paul King.

He served them a soup laced with blood pressure tablets, which left the couple incapacitated then bludgeoned them with a lump of wood as they left his family home on Burke Rd.

Wales dumped their Mercedes-Benz at Middle Park where it was recovered days later.

The bungling killer left behind a wealth of clues, lying to family members about the dinner and using a credit card to hire the trailer used to transport the bodies from Burke Rd.

Missing persons investigators were also able to track his incriminating purchases of rope, shackles, concrete blocks, cleaning agents, digging implements and a map.

On April 29, the bodies were discovered in a poorly concealed grave beside a roadside at Cambarville, 50km from Marysville.

Wales was arrested on May 11 and has not seen a day of freedom since.

Margaret Wales-King with Matthew Wales and Maritza Wales on their wedding day.

Matthew Wales with wife Maritza after his mum’s memorial service.

Former Victoria Police homicide squad detective Charlie Bezzina, whose crew was on call when the bodies were found, said Wales knew he had no chance of lying his way out of the trap he had put himself in.

Mr Bezzina said the suspect immediately confessed, wanting it known he had killed his mother simply because he hated her, not for any financial motive.

His then-wife Maritza would later meet with her lawyer and police to say she had been upstairs with their son at the time of the attack.

Police scientists at the bush grave of Margaret Wales-King and Paul King in Marysville. Picture: Trevor Pinder

Matthew Wales served the couple a soup laced with blood pressure tablets then bludgeoned them with a lump of wood as they left his family home.

Mr Bezzina said though she had lied, he was satisfied with Maritza’s explanation that she knew nothing of her husband’s murderous intent and that the first she knew of the violence was when she looked out the window and saw her husband dragging the enfeebled pair across the yard.

“We accepted what his wife said. She had made a false statement (earlier), as any wife would,” he said.

Little is known about the prison life of Wales, a former hairdresser who would now be 56-years-old.

His early years were spent in maximum security and he was later moved to the medium security Loddon Prison in central Victoria.

It is unclear whether he still has contact with Maritza, who received a bond for perverting the course of justice by lying to police investigating the murders.

Their son, a toddler at the time of the murders, would now be well into his 20s.