Exclusive: Family calls for inquest, saying Wilkinson visited police ‘almost every day’ before she was murdered by her husband in 2021

Exclusive: Family calls for inquest, saying Wilkinson visited police ‘almost every day’ before she was murdered by her husband in 2021

  • Custoslibera@lemmy.world
    2315·
    8 months ago

    I’m curious what the cops could have actually done given existing legislation.

    Were they able to arrest and detain him because he was in breach of the AVO or can’t they do anything?

    If they could have done something and didn’t then they should be held accountable.

    If the law is written such that they couldn’t arrest him then I’m not sure what could have changed.

    It’s a frustrating thing.

    • cogman@lemmy.world
      21·
      8 months ago

      With weekly break-ins, they could have watched the place and arrested whoever is breaking in for, you know, the crime of breaking and entering. They could have further gotten a protective order against the dude and then watched the place again after he left jail.

      She didn’t report the break-in once.

    • Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee
      12·
      8 months ago

      If you are charged, the police may release you on bail from the watch-house. Otherwise, they must take you to court as soon as possible and release you if the court grants bail.

      He was found sufficiently suspicious/liable enough in the initial investigation to warrant being arrested and given a formal charge, but still released on bail.

      If police charge you with an offence, they must give you a notice to appear or a full charge sheet (also called a bench charge sheet), which provides details of the charge. Police will provide the full charge sheet if they arrest and formally charge you at the watch house.

      They saw what he was doing to her, agreed enough to charge him with a crime, and then released him, with details of her complaints to the police in hand. DVO + this new offense should have been obvious that he has reoffend - the police’s behavior was completely negligent

        • Milk_Sheikh@lemm.ee
          5·
          8 months ago

          Article clearly says:

          At the beginning of April 2021, police charged Johnston with four serious domestic violence offences against Wilkinson. He was given watch house bail. In the weeks that followed, Wilkinson attempted to speak to police “almost every day” about her concerns

          I’m not a lawyer, nor an Australian lawyer, but a quick search seems that “watch house bail” is the term for “released on bail/bond” equivalent - hence the prior link to the Queensland government website.

    • Cosmonauticus@lemmy.world
      12·
      8 months ago

      They could’ve arrested him

      In the weeks that followed, Wilkinson attempted to speak to police “almost every day” about her concerns in relation to Johnston, her sister, Natalie Wilkinson told the Gold Coast Bulletin in 2021, including allegations he had breached the conditions of his domestic violence order.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
      6·
      8 months ago

      I know someone who helps run a series of shelters, where people in fear of abuse can hide. It’s not the cops, but cops sometimes send people their way. They have an ever-changing set of safe houses, and my friend can’t even say where she works in case one of the locations gets out.

      I have no idea how they connect with victims though