By LACHLAN MOORHEAD
WHEN Paula Murphy speaks to her daughter, Maddy never answers.
All Paula hears is silence.
Today (Friday) is two years since 20-year-old Maddison Murphy-West was found dead at her Ahern Road home in Pakenham on 23 October 2013.
In the wake of the tragedy Maddy’s three-year-old son, Noah, was left without his mother and her family without answers as homicide squad detectives continue to investigate her death.
Paula will today visit her daughter’s grave with Noah. The three-year-old will kiss Maddy’s tombstone as he always does when he visits his mum, and Paula will speak to her daughter.
But Maddy never responds. Paula will never hear her daughter’s voice again, and that’s what hurts the most.
“It’s really hard to speak, as soon as you do it’s hard ’cause she’s not answering me,” Paula told Star News.
“I find that really hard. You want to say something but the fact is she’s not answering me and it upsets me and frustrates me.
“I know she can’t respond, I know she never will and it’s a horrible feeling.”
Paula takes a breath and sums up her emotions in a sentence – “It doesn’t get any easier.”
Gil Murphy, Paula’s dad, will also visit his granddaughter’s grave on Friday. He will take a fresh bunch of flowers.
“It’s torture, that’s what it is,” Gil said.
“That’s about the only word I can think of.
“Every day it’s just too hard.”
Gil said it was “the kids” that gave him and his family strength to get out of bed every day.
The “kids” are Paula’s two-year-old son, Brydon, and Noah, who she now has custody of.
“Watching Noah and the things he does in his life that she’s missing out on, it’s a really horrible feeling,” Paula said.
“But you’ve got to put it aside and get on with what Maddy would have wanted, which is for her son to be happy and safe.
“How do you do that? I don’t know, but it’s what she would have wanted.”
And when it felt like things couldn’t get any worse for the Murphys, they did. Maddy’s grandmother and Gil’s wife, Anne, died suddenly from pancreatic cancer in June.
The family’s only solace is that Maddy now has her grandma by her side.
The two are together again.
The Murphy family has urged anyone who may have more information about Maddy’s death to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or submit a confidential crime report at www.crimestoppers.com.au.
