In Australia As The Police Move on Ex-boyfriend of Kate Malonyay He Jumps to His Death
AS loved ones prepare to farewell Mosman murder victim Kate Malonyay at her funeral next week, friends of her former boyfriend Elliott Coulson have defended him against claims he was involved in her murder.
Mr Coulson fell 26 floors to his death from a Gold Coast hotel on Wednesday after police arrived to question him about the murder of Ms Malonyay, 32, whose body had been found two days earlier in her Sydney apartment.
Friends said they last spoke to Ms Malonyay five days earlier but had continued to receive text messages from her phone even after police discovered her body.
The ambitious, successful and popular executive assistant will be farewelled at a memorial park ceremony near her family home on the Central Coast on May 3.
Police are yet to confirm how Ms Malonyay died or if Mr Coulson was involved.
A spokesman said investigations were ongoing and no comment would be made until they were completed.
Friends said Ms Malonyay broke up with Mr Coulson after coming to realise he was a "compulsive liar".
"He had told her he had a twin brother who had died. Kate since found out this was never the case and he never even had a brother," one friend, who did not want to be named, said.
"He also told her he had booked in to a facility to seek help (regarding his lying) but when she called to check there was no record of him there - he had lied again."
A defence source said Mr Coulson had been known by his navy shipmates as a habitual liar.
It is understood the combat systems operator went AWOL from his ship, the guided missile frigate HMAS Darwin, in Cairns last weekend.
The navy is co-operating with the police investigation, including inquiries about Coulson's movements earlier in the week. The ship's log has been handed to investigators.
But Mr Coulson's friends continue to insist he is being wrongly demonised.
"I grew up with Elliott and what is coming out about him from Sydney is so out of character with the guy I know," one friend, who did not want to be named, said.
"It just doesn't even come into my head that he would do something like that (murder Ms Malonyay).
"He was a very good guy, easy-going, calm and very kind. There was no dark shadow that I knew of.
"He had all the really good qualities of a mate, the kind of guy you would go into battle with and trust.”
THE ex-boyfriend of Sydney murder victim Kate Malonyay has fallen to his death from a luxury Gold Coast hotel as police moved in to arrest him.
Elliot Coulson plunged 26 floors from a balcony of the Marriott Surfers Paradise Resort about 11.40am Wednesday morning as horrified guests and staff looked on.
Police sources said NSW and Queensland Homicide detectives were trying to get into the hotel room to arrest him but the door was chained.
By the time they got in, Coulson was dead. He crashed through a metal awning, landing in a water feature outside the lobby.
Police launched a murder investigation after Ms Malonyay was found dead at her harbourside home at Mosman on Monday.
NSW Police Superintendent Allan Sicard said Strike Force Pasmore, involving local police and the Homicide Squad, had been formed to solve the "sensitive" and "serious" investigation into the suspicious death of Ms Malonyay.
"I can't tell you where those bruising are...The last sighting we had of her (was last Wednesday)."
Paramedics found the body of Ms Malonyay, 32, a general manager with Challenger Financial Services, inside her unit on McLeod St, Mosman, on the north shore, about 1.45pm on Monday.
The Daily Telegraph understands the alarm was raised after she failed to turn up for work and friends couldn't reach her on the phone. A relative yesterday said she had been "strangled" inside the ground-floor unit.
Shocked hotel guests and staff who witnessed Mr Coulson's death were offered counselling.
The hotel put out a statement confirming the death.
"We can confirm that earlier today, we had an incident involving a guest death," general manager Neeraj Chadha said.
"The police are conducting a full investigation into the matter and circumstances preceding the guest's death."
Friends said Ms Malonyay and Mr Coulson met about 18 months ago in Sydney.
She broke up with him a few months ago over a "build up of things" and because he fed her a "sea of lies", friends said. He told her he was in the Navy but friends say it wasn't true.
"A lot of what he said about himself to her was a lie," one said.
"He would often say he was going away on "deployments" and then be spotted around Sydney."
Supt Sicard confirmed that Ms Malonyay also lived alone and that inquiries were continuing, though police needed more information and those with any information were urged to phone police.
One of her closest friends phoned police on Monday and raised the alarm - police attended the Mosman unit to conduct a welfare check.
Woman found dead in Mosman unit
"She was a beautiful, beautiful young lady," a relative, who asked not to be named, told The Daily Telegraph.
Ms Malonyay's mother is understood to have arrived in Sydney yesterday to identify her body - her brother, who teaches in Spain, was also flying home.
The well-liked young woman, who had a boyfriend, had moved from the Central Coast to "the big smoke" several years ago after her father died.
"She was just at that age to move away from Avoca Beach," the relative said.
Detectives and uniformed police conducted detailed searches of McLeod St, along with nearby Trumfield Lane and Musgrave St. Several items were recovered, including a set of four keys and a Fitness First gym membership card, in bushes.
Inquiries were being made by police with the gym to confirm whether the card belonged to Ms Malonyay.
Officers cordoned off the garage of the unit and crime tape was used to cover five bins inside the area.
Challenger CEO Brian Benari said Ms Malonyay had been a valued member of his finance company for three years and was well liked by staff.
"All of Kate's friends and colleagues at Challenger are deeply shocked and saddened by the news," a statement said.
"Kate worked for Challenger for three years and was a much-liked and valued member of staff. Nothing was ever too much trouble for Kate. She will be remembered for her sense of humour, easygoing nature and professionalism. Our thoughts are now with her family."
Friends also took to Facebook to express their sorrow and were still coming to grips last night with the sudden, unexplainable and tragic news.
"Can't stop tearing up thinking I won't get the chance to tell you how much I love you and how very special you are to me - preying (sic) this horrid news is wrong," one friend, Kane, wrote in a tribute.
Another said: "I can't believe. Someone would hurt you Kate malonyay you were so sweet and a beautiful sole xxrest in peace.”
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