Hannah Clarke’s devastated mother has issued a heartfelt message of solidarity to the family of a mother-of-three allegedly set alight by her ex-husband.
The body of Kelly Wilkinson, 27, was discovered with burn injuries in the back yard of her Arundel home on the Gold Coast in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
Her estranged partner Brian Johnston, 35, was found two blocks away in a semi-conscious state and charged with murder.
Sue Clarke – whose daughter, 31, was burned to death along with her three young children by her cowardly estranged husband – said the alleged murder brought back painful memories of her own ordeal.
Baxter was pronounced dead at the scene last February with self-inflicted knife wounds.
‘I’d just like to say to Kelly’s family, I’m so terribly sorry,’ she told Sunrise on Wednesday morning.
‘[What allegedly happened] should never happen to any family. Not ever.’
Mother-of-three Kelly Wilkinson was found dead with burns to her body in the backyard of a Gold Coast home (pictured)
Ms Clarke said she wanted to raise awareness about the effects of ‘coercive control’ – an often hidden form of family violence which slowly strips victims of power in a relationship.
‘I would love to see a story on one of the soapies like Home and Away that the children watch with coercive control on it so they can understand what it is,’ she said.
She said families of domestic violence victims need to ‘to listen to what they tell us’ and ‘let them know we are there for them’.
The Queensland government in February took the first step towards criminalising coercive control by setting up a taskforce to consult with survivors of domestic violence.
The mother’s message of support to the Wilkinson family comes as Johnston is kept under police guard at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
The 35-year-old has suffered burns to his airways and hands and is in a serious condition, police said.
A separate GoFundMe was created by Ms Wilkinson’s sister Natalie on Tuesday afternoon asking for help to pay for the funeral of her ‘beautiful angel’.
‘Unfortunately Kelly has passed away… we are trying to raise money to pay for the funeral, the kids schooling and all other costs,’ she wrote on the page.
Hannah Clarke (pictured, right, with her grandmother, left) and children Trey, Laianah and Aaliyah were doused in petrol and set alight by her estranged husband last February
Just two days before Johnston (right) allegedly set alight Ms Wilkinson (left), his sister set up a GoFundMe page. The pair are pictured on their wedding day
The GoFundMe has already seen donations totalling more than $55,000 in the space of a day.
Ms Wilkinson’s sister asked for friends and family to ‘help the children’ through the difficult period.
Several people responded to Ms Wilkinson’s sister’s post, expressing their condolences and devastation at the news.
The couple holding one of their children during a holiday in the US. Johnston (right) is in a serious condition under police guard at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
‘Thinking of you and your family,’ one friend replied.
‘Oh babe… my heart reaches out to you all… If u need anything we are only a call away,’ another said.
‘I am so, so, so sorry Natalie,’ another said.
Neighbours said they saw a bleeding man run from the scene on Tuesday morning.
Ms Wilkinson’s body was found in the backyard of her Gold Coast home early on Tuesday morning. Police pictured at the home on Wednesday
‘He turned up in the bushes in the house next door to me – his left arm was heavily bandaged,’ one resident told 9News.
‘(A passerby) saw the fella and asked you know, ‘are you okay mate?’ He made some remark like, ‘I’m fine’, but he had his head down.’
‘The forensic examination will take some time,’ he said.
They were investigating whether there had been domestic violence calls made to the house in the past.
