A young woman thought to have killed herself in 2013 is now the center of a murder investigation – with police believing her boyfriend is the main suspect.
When Maddison Murphy West’s dead body was found at her Pakenham unit on October 23, her violent meth-using boyfriend Troy Boothey told police he had found his partner of four years hanging from the door, her two-year-old son Noah nearby.
But police now think Maddison, 20, was murdered by Boothey and disguised as self-harm, confirming the long-held beliefs of her mother, Paula. The young mother had been treated in hospital for an assault 13-months before her death and her family believe she was often in fear for her life.
Boothey, now 27, went to jail for a month after Maddison’s death for a road rage attack while on an ice-bender. He is also facing further jail time for a string of theft and drug offences, but is yet to be charged for murder.
Investigators involved in the three year case have sent evidence to the Victoria State Coroner, which means the case could go before an inquest.
A family-run Facebook page named ‘Justice For Maddy’ has provided updates over the years as the Murphy-Wests search for answers. “How can this filth ever do this to Maddy and live with it, why isn’t he asking who killed Maddy himself?” a post in July reads. “Why isn’t he screaming from the rooftops that his innocent? We all know he did it! And it will be proven eventually!”
