Landsdale shooting: Man assisting police with Landsdale killing of Ralph Matthews Cox released without charge

A man taken into custody after the fatal shooting of Ralph William Matthews Cox, who was shot dead on his doorstep in Landsdale on January 12, has been released without charge. The man, who was wanted on a return to prison warrant when police swooped on him, was taken in for questioning on Saturday. He was one of several people police took in to custody on Friday, two days after the fatal shooting, during a search warrant at a unit on Jubilee Street in Beckenham. But no charges have been laid over the matter. Instead, the man arrested on Saturday was taken back to prison on unrelated matters. Mr Matthews Cox, 47, was shot after opening his front door about 2am on Wednesday January 12. He and his partner were in the Montacute Turn rental property when the shooter showed up. WA Police have not confirmed if they have determined a motive, saying they are still pursuing several leads including whether the shooter is associated with an outlaw motorcycle gang. However they have admitted the incident was “targeted” and that the gunman and Mr Matthews Cox were known to one another, with Det-Insp. Quentin Flatman on Wednesday saying the shooting was “tragic in the extreme” but stressing that public safety was not at risk. It’s understood the murder may be connected to two other drive-by shootings, one in Girrawheen when a Montrose Avenue home was fired at about 1am on January 4, and the second two hours later at a Wanneroo Road property about 3.10am. No one was injured in the back-to-back shootings, with the residents inside the homes telling The West Australian at the time that they believed it was a case of “mistaken identity”.