27-05-2025
Peter Nguyen-Ha murder trial begins over Landsdale shooting of Ralph Matthews Cox
A Perth man was shot dead in his own home after a drug dealer seeking revenge targeted the wrong person, the WA Supreme Court has been told.
Ralph Matthews Cox suffered fatal injuries from shotgun pellets fired through his bedroom window in Landsdale in January 2022.
Peter Nguyen-Ha, 34, is on trial accused of murdering the 47-year-old.
"He was murdered in his own bedroom," prosecutor Beau Sertorio told the jury on the first day of the trial.
"He was not the intended target.
"They got the wrong man."
Mr Sertorio said the victim had nothing to do with Mr Nguyen-Ha, or his alleged accomplice Matthew Gempton.
The prosecutor described how Mr Matthews Cox's partner Tammy Wallace woke up in the early hours of January 12 after one of the men interfered with the meter box, turning the air conditioner off.
She drew back the curtains and asked who was there — then saw a figure in dark clothing holding a shotgun.
The man pointed the weapon and fired three times through the bedroom window.
Mr Sertorio told the court Mr Matthews Cox clutched his chest and said "I've been shot", having suffered fatal injuries to his upper body.
The prosecutor said the shooting was the result of a "drug deal gone wrong".
Mr Nguyen-Ha was a meth dealer and Mr Gempton helped collect money, Mr Sertorio said.
Mr Nguyen-Ha had been beaten up at a workshop in December 2021 by a man named Anthony Prior, who stole tens of thousands of dollars from him, the court heard.
Seeking help after the attack, Mr Nguyen-Ha called on Mr Gempton who drove around looking for his injured friend, and in the process accidentally shot himself in the leg with a rifle.
Both men ended up at Joondalup hospital for treatment, the court was told.
Mr Nguyen-Ha still "harboured considerable antipathy to Anthony Prior," the prosecutor said, and sought to engage in "meth-fuelled retribution".
During a "threatening excursion fraught with danger" in early January 2022, the pair tried to find Mr Prior and ended up firing shots from a rifle and shotgun into two homes in Girrawheen and Wanneroo, Mr Sertorio said.
In doing so, they were "endangering innocent lives" by shooting at "houses where people slept".
Mr Prior had once lived near one of the homes, but the residents didn't know him and knew nothing about the "drug deal gone wrong".
Nobody was injured during the incidents, but the houses were damaged.
Days later, the court heard, Mr Nguyen-Ha and Mr Gempton went to the Landsdale home where Mr Matthews Cox and Ms Wallace lived.
The court was told Mr Prior, who was Ms Wallace's nephew, had a bedroom at the back of the Landsdale home but was not there at the time of the killing.
The prosecutor said Mr Nguyen-Ha's plan was "to exact retribution for a drug deal gone wrong or to recover money".
The court heard Mr Gempton will give evidence at the trial, which is expected to last several weeks.
Along with the murder charge, Mr Nguyen-Ha is facing five counts of doing an act likely to endanger life.
