Melbourne abuzz over society murders

In a discreet place where nothing much seems to happen, the Kings blended comfortably into their privileged surroundings.

At first glance, the crisp autumn leaves which cover the tree-lined pavements appear the most lively attraction in one of Melbourne's wealthiest, and sleepiest, suburbs.

Armadale may not lie far from the imposing city skyline or the cooler, brasher and younger environs of its nearby upmarket counterpart, Toorak, but it could be a world removed.

This is where the Old Money lives. Many of the homes here are hidden from view behind mature trees, hedges, fences or security walls, keeping the apparently successful lives and reputations inside free from prying eyes.

Margaret Wales-King, aged 68, and her second husband, Paul King, 70, fitted the Armadale mould. Born into privilege, Margaret Wales-King was a wealthy, independent woman who appeared to be basking in the autumn of a fortunate life.

The daughter of a road-building and construction tycoon, she had moved on from the breakdown of her first marriage to the father of her five children, and shrewdly invested her personal fortune.

She was a caring wife looking after Paul King, rendered invalid after a series of strokes, and a loving mother and grandmother who doted on a large extended family.

Her devotion to the card game, bridge, an emerging fad among Melbourne's elite, seemed the most daring component in a lifestyle dominated by normality.

But appearances can often be deceptive, and what seemed on the face of it a contented existence is now being exposed to the jarring reality of a murder investigation.

Last week the decomposing bodies of Margaret Wales-King and Paul King were found dumped, one on top of the other, in a hastily dug shallow grave.

Bound and wrapped in plastic, they were still dressed in the clothes they had been wearing when last seen alive almost a month beforehand.

Both had been asphyxiated. Suggestions they were sedated beforehand are being investigated.

The day after the grisly discovery in bushland to the east of the city, one of Melbourne's most notorious criminals, Victor Peirce, was shot dead in a city street.

But it is the so-called Society Murders which have captured the public interest. With a list of suspects longer than a sawn-off shotgun, many feel Peirce had it coming.

Not so the Kings. Conversations everywhere are wondering aloud why anyone would wreak such a violent, gruesome, undignified end to lives of an innocent old couple. And just what kind of person could do such a terrible thing?

The speculative scene in one Toorak cafe is repeated all over Melbourne.

"It can't have been a robbery or else they would have taken the jewellery she was wearing," says one smartly dressed young woman as she waits for her skinny latte.

The barista serving her pauses momentarily for thought. "Yeah, I suppose so, but what if they were going to go back and get the jewellery later?"

In a city full of amateur sleuths there has even been speculation that the competitive bridge scene in which Margaret Wales-King recently became an active participant is somehow the key to the baffling case.

Although every piece of gossip and innuendo is being treated seriously, police have dismissed that theory as more Miss Marple than real-life Melbourne.

Detectives are said to have been concentrating their efforts on those closest to the victims.

After developments this week, public attention is focused on the youngest of Margaret Wales-King's five children, 34-year-old Matthew Wales.

He and his Spanish-born wife, Maritza, were apparently the last people to see the couple alive.

The Kings had gone to their son's home for dinner on Thursday, April 4. Police were told they left in their top-of-the-range Mercedes Benz at 9.45pm, but never made it home, just a five-minute drive away.

Several appointments were missed over the following days before Margaret Wales-King failed to turn up at a prearranged meal with her daughter that Sunday.

The lights were on when family members went to their A$1.5 million ($1.75 million) home. Plates and glasses - used to entertain friends before the couple went to their son's house - lay unwashed.

A few days later the mystery deepened when their silver Mercedes was found parked, locked and undamaged, in another part of the city.

But last week the family's worst fears were realised when two rangers in the Yarra Ranges National Park discovered the bodies under a mound of dirt they initially thought was a lyrebird's nest.

Such was the potential forensic value of the burial site, an order was granted to ban publication of what was found with the bodies.

Although Margaret Wales-King's Louis Vuitton handbag, mobile phone and car key remain missing, police have ruled out robbery as a motive.

They are treating the case as a calculated murder and investigating one theory that a locked gate prevented the killer or killers from dumping the bodies in a nearby lake.

Interviews and background checks have been carried out on family and friends.

When Matthew Wales' house and backyard were searched, police stressed it was a routine part of the investigation but speculation exploded.

Matthew Wales and his wife, who run a clothing shop on Armadale High St, have been under siege since.

One television network filmed them secretly from a van and this week's developments have merely added to the intrigue.

On Monday, Maritza, 37, was questioned by police after detectives escorted her from the couple's home into a waiting unmarked car.

It was also revealed that Matthew Wales allegedly hired a trailer from a local service station the morning after he last saw his mother and step-father.

Police have seized the trailer for forensic testing and are investigating neighbour's claims that Matthew was seen hosing out his garage shortly after the disappearance. It was not something they had seen him do before, or since.

Piecing together the fragments from a story which has dominated Victoria's media for weeks, the court of public opinion is filled with theories.

Last weekend, Margaret Wales-King's sister, Di Yeldham, a well-known Sydney socialite and art dealer, told reporters she was aware of the rumours, describing them as unfounded.

While eldest son, Damian Wales, expressed relief that the bodies had been found, he said the family wouldn't rest until justice was done.

"We just want to get on now and try and find out who's done this," he says. "Our minds won't be totally at rest until we've actually got a result."

On Wednesday, the trauma of recent weeks was all too evident on the faces of the family as the elderly couple were finally laid to rest.

About 40 relatives and close friends gathered for the funeral mass at a church where Margaret Wales-King had worshipped every week.

Shortly after arriving, Damian Wales gave Matthew Wales a lengthy embrace. The younger brother wiped tears from both cheeks and broke down again after sprinkling holy water on his mother's coffin.

For the last month, Damian Wales has been acting as the family spokesman, leading public appeals and, until the bodies were found, making himself readily available to the media.

Journalists working on the story say he has been dignified throughout, trying to hold his family together in the most difficult of circumstances while protecting their privacy.

That privacy continues to come under scrutiny like never before.

At the funeral service two plain clothed officers sat behind the family at the service. Police, although unwilling to comment on this week's events, have put Matthew's house under constant surveillance.

The same tactic has also been employed by a more visible media pack.

Although Margaret was never a feature of the city's social circuit, she was known among the city's elite.

Retirement with Paul, whom she married 25 years ago, was more than comfortable. Her privately schooled children are all thought to be financially sound.

That's something she had astutely considered when drawing up her will. It contained an unusual clause that beneficiaries of her estimated A$5 million ($6 million) estate would receive their share only when they turned 40.

She clearly didn't want anyone to be dependent on her for their own financial gain.

In the meantime, Margaret Wales-King's lawyer has gone to the Supreme Court to freeze her assets, which included cash, shares, "significant investment portfolios" and the couple's home.

Solicitor Anthony Joyce said his application to secure her estate was partly based on "confidential information provided ... by police investigating the deaths of Mrs Wales-King and her husband".