‘She did not deserve this’: Mother allegedly murdered by neighbour outside her home

On Saturday, a woman had to tell her niece the unimaginable: your mother was allegedly murdered, struck by a car outside her home in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

The family of Melonie McKay, 53, were devastated by her death on Saturday, after the mother and grandmother was fatally hit on Seston Street in Reservoir about 7.40pm on Friday, where authorities declared her dead.

Her neighbour Luke Rainey, 44, was later charged with her murder.

McKay’s sister was tasked with telling one of her nieces, who struggles with severe mental illness and lived with her mother.

McKay was the epitome of kindness and compassion, always putting her loved ones first, her sister told The Age. Her warmth and love touched everyone she met, she said.

“The loss of her life to violence has been absolutely devastating, not just to us, but especially to her three children,” said McKay’s sister, who asked not to be named to protect her privacy.

“Our family will forever feel the void she’s left behind, and the pain of this loss is unimaginable.”

McKay lived without judgment, and her resilience when confronted with adversity inspired the people around her, her sister said.

McKay’s son, Trent Ottrey, learnt about Friday’s incident on social media and arrived at his mother’s home about two hours after it happened. On Saturday, he spoke to reporters outside the home with tears in his eyes.

McKay’s sister said the 53-year-old was struck outside her front door. Bouquets of flowers were left on her doorstep on Saturday.

“My mum grew up hard, so we grew up hard. We went through a bit,” Ottrey said.

“Half of the people I knew from around the area knew about it before I even knew about it.”

His mother struggled with mental illness and addiction, and Ottrey said he had a complicated relationship with her.

Ottrey said the family knew of Rainey.

McKay’s cousin, Carly McKay, paid tribute to the 53-year-old via a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her funeral. “My cousin was the most caring and beautiful person who did not deserve to [lose] her life,” Carly wrote.

Rainey faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Saturday, where he told the court he had two children, for whom he had full custody.

Appearing via video link, Rainey wore a dark green shirt and sat with his hands resting on his knees.

His lawyer told the court Rainey had no significant mental health concerns, but it would be prudent for his client to be linked with a custody nurse because of the length of time before a further hearing.

The lawyer said there was a large amount of evidence from the scene that needed to be processed by forensics, which would delay when the police’s hand-up brief of evidence could be submitted to the court.

“This is the highest offence that one can face … There is quite a lot of reconstruction by forensics to be done,” he said.

Rainey is unable to seek bail because of the nature of the charge and will return to court on July 1.

Forensic investigators could be seen behind police tape looking inside a white ute that was stopped on the road on Friday night, Nine News reported.

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