A young woman struggles to cope after witnessing the alleged murder of her mother.
Natalie Jane Frahm, 34, was allegedly shot in the head and chest by her neighbor Ryan Geoffrey Cole, 31, when he pulled up in his car outside her home in Robb Place, South Mackay in central Queensland , on Wednesday afternoon.
Mrs Frahm was traveling with two children, aged 11 and 12, who bravely ran out of the car.
“They were heading to some sort of sporting activity,” Acting Detective Superintendent Emma Novosel told reporters.
Cole allegedly approached the woman while she was sitting in the vehicle with the girls before shooting her.
Natalie Jane Frahm, 34, was allegedly fatally shot in the head and chest by her Mackay neighbour, Ryan Geoffrey Cole.
“This is obviously a tragic incident in which two girls witnessed a violent death,” Superintendent Novosel said.
‘I want to recognize and praise their bravery for managing to get out of such a dangerous situation and raise the alarm.
“It’s incredibly brave and I can’t even begin to imagine the trauma they must be experiencing.”
The girls fled the car unharmed and alerted a 66-year-old neighbor, James Trevor McGill.
He came to the woman’s aid, but Cole allegedly shot him and suffered injuries to his hand and chest.
The good Samaritan remains at Mackay Base Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
Tiffany Mulligan, who knew Frahm from the Mang-gon Thai Boxing gym they attended together, said she has been in contact with her friend’s traumatized daughter.
Ms Frahm helped run a local business in Mackay and was “very well-liked” in the community.
“I called her earlier and, you know, understandably she just saw that happen to her mom, so her emotions aren’t really processing right now,” Mulligan said. courier mail.
‘She didn’t really have any emotion, but, it will come, you know. “I’ve been talking to them all day and they’re pretty devastated, that was literally our family.”
She described Mrs. Frahm as her “best friend,” who worked from home doing administrative tasks at her brother’s business.
“We did everything together, she braided my hair for fights, she was one of my biggest supporters,” Mulligan said.
“I’m just devastated…we would go into town and party and do different things, she was such a fun person…and a smile from her would light up any room.”
She feared the worst after Frahm didn’t respond to her text messages the afternoon of the shooting.
The Thai boxing gym the couple attended paid tribute to Mrs Frahm on Facebook on Thursday.
“Natalie always had the most infectious smile, always helping where she could and making close friends,” the post read.
Other members of the gym expressed their surprise and also paid tribute.
“Well loved, greatly respected and will be remembered with the greatest respect,” one person wrote.
‘A strong woman, a loving mother and proud of her children… Always with a smile.’
Another wrote that ‘Nat was ‘loved in the community and a wonderful mother, wife and training partner.’ ️ I hope the family and children are safe.”
Police are shown processing the scene on Robb Place in South Mackay, on Wednesday after the alleged double shooting.
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The Queensland Homicide Victim Support Group traveled to Mackay on Thursday to help provide support to Ms Frahm’s devastated family.
Daily Mail Australia previously revealed Ms Frahm moved to Mackay several years ago from her hometown of Mount Isa, located 1,230km west in outback Queensland.
His family is well known in the small town, where they run local businesses.
In 2015, Frahm made local headlines after winning a regional award, the EMO Trans Northern Outback Business Awards, for her beauty spa, Bellovista Spa & Skin Clinic.
In her latest Instagram post last Monday, Ms. Frahm shared a video of her skateboarding down a trail along with the caption: “Skating through the week like a boss.”
A heartbroken friend paid tribute to the mother online as a “beautiful angel”.
The tragedy has rocked the quiet seaside suburb, which was plunged into a massive emergency lockdown amid the alleged shootings.
Police will allege that Cole, who turned 31 that day, opened fire on Mrs Frahm at around 4.30pm as she sat in her car with two teenagers, her daughter and her daughter’s friend, before fleeing the scene. scene in a Mitsubishi Triton.
Police were called and an exclusion zone was established while officers searched the area for the suspected gunman.
Natalie Frahm’s latest Instagram post showed her skating down a trail last week.
Cole was arrested at around 7.45pm outside a service station on Bruce Highway, near Hilton Street, about 2km away.
It is understood that Cole and Frahm did not know each other, but lived on the same street.
A neighbor said she was shocked by the chain of events and said she frequently saw Mr Cole on the street.
“It seemed nice,” he said.
‘He’s been living there for a while. He seemed like a man of good style. He always walked by and smiled. He saw him working on his boat or with his carpenter’s cart.
‘(What supposedly happened) is all very sad.’
Cole appeared at Mackay Magistrates Court on Thursday via video link from the watch house, charged with murder and attempted murder.
He was remanded in custody to appear in court at a later date.