South Mackay man faces court after death of woman allegedly killed in driveway

A mum who was allegedly shot and killed by her neighbour as she sat in her car outside her house has been identified.

Police are still piecing together why a gunman allegedly executed his next-door neighbour before allegedly turning his weapon on another neighbour who tried to help.

A young mother who was allegedly shot in the head as she sat in her car outside her Queensland home has been idenified.

Natalie Jane Frahm, 34, was allegedly killed at 4.30pm on Wednesday as she sat in her car in the driveway of her Robb Place home in South Mackay.

A Good Samaritan who came to Ms Frahm’s aid was also shot but has survived.

Police allege Ms Frahm was killed by 31-year-old Ryan Geoffrey Cole, who lived on the same street the young mum but was uknown to her.

Cole has been charged with murder and attempted murder after a shooting spree with a “revolver like” weapon that locked down part of the suburb and sparked a frantic manhunt. Cole, 31, appeared via video link in Mackay Magistrates Court on Thursday.

Police allege that two girls in the car with Ms Frahm managed to escape and sought help from neighbour James McGill, 66, who was then also allegedly shot by Mr Cole.

Detective Acting Superintendent Emma Novosel said the mum, daughter and her friend were “heading out to some sort of sporting activity” at the time of the alleged attack.

“The motives behind the attack on this woman and man are unknown,” Superintendent Novosel told reporters on Wednesday.

Young mother Natalie Frahm was killed in South Mackay.

“There will be further investigations that are obviously undertaken to try and determine what’s brought about this incident.”

Police say McGill had been at his 89-year-old mother’s house to assist with household chores before the attack.

Mr Cole previously made the news in 2008 when he was bitten on the foot by a Taipan in his hometown of Mundubberra when he was 15.

He was saved by his brother Jako and a group of mates after he began convulsing and bleeding from the mouth.

His friends pulled him from the waterhole he was bitten in and bandaged his foot with a t-shirt, and called emergency services.

31-year-old Ryan Geoffrey Cole appeared via video link in Mackay Magistrates Court today, facing charges of murder and attempted murder after an alleged shooting spree with a “revolver like” weapon that locked down part of the suburb and sparked a frantic manhunt.

Police allege Mr Cole approached his neighbour, Natalie Jane Frahm, 34, at 4:30pm on Wednesday as she sat in her car in the driveway of her Robb Place home.

Before the alleged attack, Superintendent Novosel said that Ms Frahm was preparing to drive the two young girls to a sporting event.

“It is not believed that the man and woman were known to each other. However, preliminary investigations indicate that they lived on the same street,” Novosel said.

“There were two children in the vehicle at the time who fled and sought assistance from a neighbour at a nearby residence.

“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.

The two girls in the car managed to escape and sought help from neighbour James McGill, 66, who was then also allegedly shot by Mr Cole.

“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.”

A spokeswoman for Mackay Base Hospital said that Mr McGill was in a stable condition as of Thursday afternoon.

A neighbour said they were shocked to hear of the shooting, claiming Mr Cole “seemed nice”.

“He has been living there for a while. He seemed like a good style of a man. He would always drive past and smile. I’d see him working on his boat or with his carpenter’s trolley,” the neighbour said.

“It is all very sad.”