On April 20, 2012, Gerard Baden-Clay phoned the police. His wife hadn’t come home from her morning walk, you see, and it wasn’t like her to be late. She had a big day ahead, and he didn’t want to cause a fuss, but he was getting worried. When the police arrived at the Baden-Clay household in Brookfield in Brisbane’s west, Gerard greeted the officers, gesturing apologetically at his face. “Cut myself shaving,” he said. He needn’t have pointed it out. Officers immediately noticed the long, ragged scratches on the side of Gerard’s face.
And they knew they weren’t from shaving.
The investigation into Allison’s disappearance would become one of the largest in Brisbane’s history, in man hours and in media coverage. The people demanded to know what happened to Allison, a much-loved mother, friend, and member of the community. People who had never met her joined a crowd of hundreds at the Brookfield Showgrounds to volunteer their time to search for Allison. Her husband Gerard was not amongst them.
When Allison’s body was found, days later, dumped in a creek under a bridge, miles from her home, there was one person the police and the public were sure was responsible.
Sources:
The bulk of the information for this episode was taken from David Murray’s outstandingly excellent book, The Murder of Allison Baden-Clay, a fantastic addition to anyone’s true crime library.
The Courier-Mail archives have a huge range of articles written by David Murray and other journalists which can be accessed here http://www.couriermail.com.au/?s=allison+baden-clay if you have a Courier-Mail subscription.
Allison’s autopsy report can be found at https://aussiecriminals.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/autopsy-report1.pdf.
The judge’s summary for the jury at Gerard’s trial can be found here https://archive.sclqld.org.au/qjudgment/2014/QSC14-154.pdf
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