‘One of the worst crime scenes’: Man accused of killing elderly mum with cooking knife

A man accused of murdering his elderly mother at her Brisbane home bought a plane ticket to Tokyo after he allegedly stabbed her with a Japanese-style kitchen knife.

Senior police described it as one of the most horrific cases they have seen.

Alexander Clive Webb, 40, from Victoria, was charged with murder after his 79-year-old mother, Cecilia Webb, was found with stab wounds on different parts of her body in the front yard of her house in Brisbane’s west on Monday afternoon.

A man has been charged with murder after a 79-year-old woman was found with a stab wound at a property in The Gap. Credit: Nine News

Ms Webb was found by police at the Chestnut Place property in The Gap, and was later declared dead at the site.

Police would allege she was killed with a cooking knife Mr Webb had bought recently, and she had suffered defensive wounds.

Detective Inspector Michael Jones said after Mr Webb had left The Gap property, he was treated for a hand injury at another property, then at another residence he hosed himself down.

He also caught an Uber to an address in South Brisbane, where he was staying.

Police said he then caught a second Uber to the airport and had purchased a ticket to Tokyo.

“It was booked after the incident had occurred,” he said.

Victorian man Alexander Clive Webb, 40, was charged with the murder of his Brisbane mother, Cecilia Webb, who police allege was fatally stabbed on Monday afternoon.

Mr Webb was arrested at the front entrance of the Brisbane International Airport about 6.20pm.

Jones said police were not aware of any links to Tokyo.

“His exact motivation of going to that location, [police] are unsure of,” he said.

Jones said police were working to determine the events leading up to Ms Webb’s death.

“Certainly witnesses we’ve spoken to so far haven’t indicated that there was any ongoing issue or that he’d been at the address for a long period of time,” he said.

Jones said the incident was confronting for attending emergency services and for witnesses, some of whom were friends of Ms Webb. Police said some of the witnesses saw what happened.

“It’s a devastating situation for the family and our thoughts are certainly with the family at this time,” he said.

“The injuries were quite horrific, she was stabbed multiple times.

“It’s probably important to point out that the scene itself was particularly horrific. I’ve been an investigator for over 20 years, and it’s one of the worst crime scenes I’ve seen.”

Alexander Clive Webb was arrested at the entrance of the Brisbane International Airport. Credit: Australian Federal Police

Jones said Mr Webb had lived in Victoria, in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn, and detectives were not sure how long he had been in Brisbane.

Court documents show Mr Webb was born in London, while police said they believed he was a permanent resident in Australia.

He did not participate in an interview with officers, Jones said. He said there was no history of domestic violence between the pair.

On Tuesday morning, Webb remained in custody and did not appear for his first court appearance in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.

His case was adjourned to April 22.

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