Fresh details have emerged of the final moments of a New Zealand woman who was violently killed in front of her husband at a shopping centre in Newport Beach, California.
Patricia ‘Trish’ McKay was fatally run over by the men who tried to rob her and husband Doug McKay, a former Bank of New Zealand executive and CEO of Auckland council, after the elderly couple was targeted for their pricey belongings.
Patricia and Doug were standing outside a Barnes & Noble bookstore at the Fashion Island Mall, which is usually considered a safe location, when two men approached them at about 3.30 pm on Tuesday to rob them at gunpoint.
A ‘struggle’ ensued and one of the two men fired several rounds from a pistol as he fled the scene on foot.
Fellow shopper Dan Sheen said he had been inside the nearby Whole Foods and ‘heard some shots ring out as I was walking out’.
He told Morning Report he believed the robbers had initially been trying to steal Mr McKay’s watch, before turning their attention to Mrs McKay’s bag.
‘They went after a watch that he was wearing, from what I understand he was wearing,’ Mr Sheen said.
‘And then they turned their attention to Patricia with the bag and there was a struggle there.’
Mr Sheen said when the shots rang out ‘everybody freaked out and ran for cover’.
One of his friends tried to stop the robber who had grabbed Mrs McKay’s handbag and ‘put his arm out when the guy was running away with the bag’.
Mrs McKay was then dragged into the car park as the two men got into a Toyota Camry being driven by a third man, who then ran over Mrs McKay.
‘I heard the screech of the car, and then I heard what happened afterwards,’ Mr Sheen said.
‘The person jumped in the car, the car sped away really quick and, unfortunately as I understand, ran over Patricia.’
Mrs McKay, who is today being remembered as a ‘doting’ grandmother and and beloved ‘mother, wife, and friend’, was pronounced dead at the scene.
No one was struck by gunfire, Newport Beach Police Sergeant Steve Oberon told DailyMail.com, but the car ran over Mrs McKay and then sped from the scene.
Police were in pursuit after the attack as shots were fired from the moving vehicle.
Cops followed the men in a high speed cross-county chase, with the suspects’ car reaching speeds of 110mph (177km/h) on the 105 freeway.
The pursuit continued into Los Angeles County, where two of the men jumped from the Toyota near Los Alamitos, and began running around a neighbourhood in South Gate, reports CBS.
Police found one of the men hiding behind trash cans outside a house and arrested him, and then tracked down and arrested two other suspects.
Newport Beach Police officials identified the suspects as Jaden Cunningham, 18, of Lancaster; Malachi Eddward Darnell, 18, of Los Angeles; and Leroyernest Joseph McCrary, 26, of Compton.
All three were booked on suspicion of homicide, robbery with a firearm and conspiracy.
Doug McKay was not injured in the attack, with police confirming there were no gunshot wounds to either him or his wife Trish.
‘It is a shock,’ Newport Beach Police Sgt. Steve Oberon said. ‘It just doesn’t happen normally here.’
In a statement following the death, the McKay family said ‘no words can express our sadness as we try to come to terms with the loss of our mother, wife and friend Patricia.’
Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson said in a Facebook post she was ‘beyond devastated’ to hear of Trish McKay’s death.
‘Trish was the wife of Doug McKay who was – among other significant roles – the inaugural CEO of the amalgamated Auckland Council,’ she said.
‘Trish was amazing – funny, loyal, and loving. My absolute deepest sympathies to Doug and her family.’
As a memorial of flowers and tributes was growing outside the Barnes & Noble, Newport Beach City mayor Will O’Neill said he was ‘furious’ after hearing news of the ‘staggering’ attack, described Mrs McKay’s death as tragic.
‘I’m horrified. I’m mourning the loss of someone who died inside of our city because of crime,’ he said. ‘This is a tragedy and I’m furious.
‘Newport Beach is a safe community and we’re mourning the loss of someone.
‘Frankly, to hell with these guys… These are thugs. Every community is now dealing with this. We have to do better as a society. We cannot tolerate this.’
Mr O’Neill said at least one of the suspects ‘shouldn’t have been in free society’ because of his criminal history.
A note attached to one bunch of flowers at the death site read, ‘Rest in heaven, Patricia McKay. Stop the senseless thefts. We need more security… immediately’.
Police have increased patrols at the shopping mall since the incident.
Bank of New Zealand chief executive Dan Huggins conveyed the bank’s ‘deep sadness and heartfelt condolences to the McKay family for the sudden and tragic loss of Patricia (Trish) McKay.’
He said Doug and Patricia had been a big part of the company family.
‘Our thoughts at this time go out to both Trish’s family, to Doug and the McKay family, and we are doing all that we can to support them at this time.’