Family, friends remember mum, children who died in Hillier farmhouse
TORN by grief and anger, Adeline Yvette Rigney-Wilson’s mother says her daughter and grandchildren are “in the Lord’s hands” — while the devil will deal with their killer.
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THE grieving mother of slain woman Adeline Yvette Rigney-Wilson says she never thought the lives of her beautiful daughter and grandchildren “would end like this”.
On Tuesday morning, Donna Rigney told The Advertiser her heart was torn between grief and fury following the shock discovery of three bodies at Hillier on Monday afternoon.
“Adeline was beautiful, she was so beautiful. The human feeling, the emotion, is I want revenge but I can’t do that,” she said.
“It’s in the good Lord’s hands. They are in the good Lord’s hands. We’ve got God and he will sort this out — and the devil will take care of his own.
“I never thought it would end like this.”
Donna Rigney said she was struggling to come to terms with the shock loss of her daughter, who they knew as Yvette, and grandchildren, Corey, 5, and Amber, 6.
Names and images of the victims have been published with the family’s permission.
Police discovered the bodies of Yvette, 29, and her two young children inside the Hillier farmhouse, near Gawler, about 1.30pm on Monday.
Yvette’s partner, Steven Graham Peet, 30, has been charged with her murder and that of her two children.
He appeared in the Elizabeth Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon and did not apply for bail.
Ms Rigney-Wilson’s mother gathered with her brother Peter, sister Wendy, daughter Juanita and cousin Latoya to mourn their loss.
She told The Advertiser Yvette was the second of her four daughters, and also had five brothers.
However, she said the family had not been together since January due to the “ups and downs” Yvette was enduring.
“It was bad sh*t. I just wish things would have changed but they didn’t,” she said.
“My daughter got mixed up with the wrong kind of crowd, with drugs, ice ...
“People are going to judge her based on that and how she looks but I don’t care what they think — she was a beautiful lady who looked after her children and always made sure they were right.
“Despite her addictions, despite her habit, she always put her kids first and made sure they had food and were loved.”
Ms Rigney said Corey and Amber were happy children who loved to do anything and were always full of laughter.
She said the family had yet to decide how to break the news of their deaths to Yvette’s surviving son, who lives with his father.
“I have a lot of beautiful memories ... she gave me photos of them on Mother’s Day and that was the last thing I got off her,” Ms Rigney said.
“But she gave it to my youngest daughter to give to me because she didn’t want to come to my house.
“I know she loved me, I know she knew I loved her and I did love her, but things in life don’t always turn out how you want them to.”
Ms Rigney said she did not know Peet and her family had only limited interactions with him prior to Monday’s incident.
“My daughter was a fighter, she wouldn’t have gone down without a fight,” she said.
Yvette’s uncle, Peter, said he hoped justice would come swiftly in the case.
“Two innocent children have been taken and my niece has been taken, evil things have been done, and the devil will take care of his own,” he said.
The Education Department’s Gawler education director, Kathryn Bruggemann, said Corey and Amber were in reception and Year 1 at Evanston Gardens Primary School and had attended as recently as last week.
“Obviously there is a level of absolute distress, shock and, for staff, a great deal of sadness,” she said.
“It’s a shocking thing to learn about and know how close to home it is and for a school community that has so much invested in their school.
“The sadness is quite obvious in all of the conversations I’ve had with parents and teachers, SSOs (schools support officers) and children.
“You have children in your class who you become incredibly attached to who have suffered such tragic circumstances.”
Ms Bruggemann said while she did not know the children, school principal Libby Clift had described them as “absolutely delightful”.
She said staff were concerned about the family and friends of the victims and had met at 8.10am on Tuesday to discuss how they were going to tell students.
“They were contacted by text message and phone call last night, particularly those staff members who had the children in their classes,” she said.
“I was informed yesterday afternoon and I happened to be at a meeting with the principal so, sadly, her and I had a conversation and then began to plan with DECD how we were going to manage the situation.
“Our absolute focus is on the wellbeing of every child that attends Evanston Gardens Primary School and obviously the staff members who are dealing with grief and loss that will be felt.
“They had formed relationships with those children and had formed a relationship with the parent so for them there is a great sense of loss, sadness and I guess disbelief.”
Ms Bruggemann said numerous children had been collected by their parents because they were distressed.
“Where children have been more distressed or obviously not coping with the situation then we have rang parents and parents have been fantastic,” she said.
“Social work support will be in place for the whole day so there will be sessions for children in small groups or individually.
“We will be monitoring staff today but also into the future. We are trying to get things back to normal as much as we can for the children and for the staff.
“There will also be information sent home to parents giving strategies for parents to deal with children’s grief and loss and also some connections to other services if they need them.”
Parents Pat and Kerry, who did not give their surnames, broke down in tears over the tragedy.
Kerry, a mother of two boys, said all she could do was comfort her sons when they got home from school.
“I really felt sick to my stomach that someone could do that to two little kids and the mother,” she said.
“I feel so sorry for the family that are going through this. I find it hard … it’s pretty sad two kids don’t get to see the rest of their lives.”
Pat said her daughter had described the young girl as “really nice”
Flowers and tributes have also started to be left at the scene of the crime.
John Goldsmith was emotional when he laid flowers for the slain mum and her two kids at the front of the Hiller property on Tuesday morning.
“These poor kids ... what they’ve been through,” he said.
“No kids deserve to go through that.”
Mother Felicity Southworth, who went to the Hiller property with her young son, was heartbroken over the killing of two children.
“The kids should have been protected,” she said.
“It has been on my mind all night.”
Family members of Ms Rigney-Wilson arrived at the property, about 45km north of Adelaide, just before 7pm on Monday and embraced before speaking with detectives.
A short time later the three family members left the property. One, Ms Rigney-Wilson’s sister, later retrieved a small pet dog from the home.
Her sister described Ms Rigney-Wilson and her children as “beautiful”.
“She was a strong, black woman,” she said.
A younger brother of Ms Rigney-Wilson arrived at the property on Tuesday morning and spoke with police.
“I just want to mourn the loss of my sister,” he said.
‘There were times I wanted to take the kids away from her’
AS she mourned the unimaginable loss of her daughter and two of her grandchildren, Donna Rigney was also tormented by regret.
“Yvette was beautiful but she got into drugs ... there were a couple of times I wanted to take the children (from her),” she told The Advertiser on Tuesday.
“I never did because it was her life, and she always made sure that they were fed and safe ... she’d never put her drugs before her kids.
“People in this world judge others by how they look, and I don’t care what anyone says or thinks — she was a good mum, despite her habits.”
Her daughter’s problems had led to the pair becoming estranged, and to Ms Rigney cherishing two lots of pictures in photo frames above all her other possessions.
One shows her large, loving family gathered together, arms around one another, after the funeral of a relative — smiling, despite their grief, because of their mutual strength.
The other is a simple, handpainted frame bearing the world “love” and featuring images of her daughter and her children. That frame has become Ms Rigney’s last bittersweet connection to her lost loved ones.
“I have a lot of beautiful memories ... Yvette gave me photos of them on Mother’s Day and that was the last thing I got off her,” she said.
“But she gave it to my youngest daughter to give to me because she didn’t want to come to my house.
“We weren’t talking because of her ups and downs. I know she loved me, I know she knew I loved her — and I did love her. But things in life don’t always turn out how you want them to.”
White Ribbon ambassador Arman Abrahimzadeh, whose mother Zahra was killed by her estranged husband, said women living with family violence could face isolation.
He urged friends and neighbours to be observant.
“Women don’t seek help in rural communities because they’re afraid the word’s going to get out and they’ll be stigmatised,” he said.
“People don’t necessarily have to intervene personally, but get the police involved ... if you see or hear something concerning, then definitely say something.”
FOR ADVICE OR SUPPORT PHONE
Victim Support Service on 8231 5626 or 1800 182 368
Domestic Violence Crisis Service on 1300 782 200
Domestic Violence Gateway Service on 1800 800 098
National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT
In an emergency, dial SA Police on 000
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