THINK OF THE BOYS
Beloved mum’s scream moments before stabbed to death
JUST moments before she was stabbed to death, Marie van Beers begged her attacker to “think of the boys”.
Friends and family yesterday paid tribute to the 63-year-old woman, killed in her Tweed Heads home on Monday night, describing her as everyone’s favourite aunty.
NEIGHBOURS have told of the terrifying final moments of Marie van Beers who was stabbed to death at Tweed Heads, saying they heard her cry out: “Think of the boys.’’
The peace at the usually quiet unit block in Brett St, close to the Tweed Hospital, was shattered by screams about 6.30pm NSW time on Monday. Then there was silence. But police and ambulance had been called and within a very short time police roared into the street and according to neighbours, kicked in the door to the unit.
They were confronted by a chilling scene, described by the TweedByron police chief yesterday as “horrible’’.
Then nurses and security guards from the hospital sprinted down the road. The nurses began CPR in a desperate bid to revive the 63-year-old.
But the former aged care worker, mother of two sons and grandmother of two girls, died at the scene.
Her partner, 64-yearold Paul Thomas Ryan, was allegedly found in the unit. Tweed Byron Police District Superintendent Wayne Starling said the man was arrested after a brief struggle.
Mr Ryan was due to appear in the Tweed Heads Local court yesterday on a murder charge but the matter was adjourned. Police said he was in hospital. It was not known why.
Neighbour Billy Briggenshaw said the couple had kept to themselves.
“They’ve been here years, I never really spoke to them but you would see him sitting out the front drinking,” he said.
Kerryn Frederickson, who lives in a nearby apartment block, said she was having dinner with her family when the peace was shattered.
“Because the hospital is just nearby we thought it was someone going mental, you get that all the time,” she said.
“We came out and all we could hear was screaming, really loud, then silence. The cops came tearing down the road. We saw the cops kick the door in. It’s just sad.’’
Police investigations are continuing.
Officers said they were aware of the couple prior to the Monday night drama.
“The scene was horrible for the police who attended, it’s a sad situation and my role is to care for the police who attended,” Supt Starling said.
“Police still have a large number of people to interview. We have forensic experts out at the scene and we’ve got to look at every possible scenario in the interest of the victim who lost her life.”