‘A horrible, evil person’: Adelaide poisoning murderer Wendie-Sue Dent abandons final legal claim to the estate of victim David Lawrence

The brother of a man poisoned in a cruel, calculated murder by a woman who proclaimed herself his fiancee has spoken outside of court. See the video.

 

Black widow murderer Wendie-Sue Dent has run out of appeals at last – and now her victim, David Lawrence, can finally be laid to rest after 10 years of lawsuits.

The Advertiser can reveal the High Court of Australia has rejected Dent’s application for special leave to appeal her conviction for the 2015 murder of David Lawrence.

It was her final avenue of appeal after a long series of hearings, appeals and retrials across multiple jurisdictions, triggered by her greed-driven crime.

On Wednesday, Mr Lawrence’s siblings appeared in the Supreme Court and asked it to lift injunctions Dent took out, almost a decade ago, over his estate and his ashes.

Earlier that morning, however, Dent’s counsel filed a notice of discontinuance with the court – meaning she has abandoned her claim over his worldly possessions and remains.

To ensure she does not reactivate her dropped claim, the court formally excluded her from any future matters to do with Mr Lawrence’s will – cutting her out of the estate once and for all.

Wendie-Sue Dent during one of her trials. Picture: Sam Wundke

Outside court, Mr Lawrence’s brother, Dr Phillip Lawrence, and their family welcomed the end of their decade-long “personal horror”.

They said their next move would be planning a funeral for their brother “at last”.

“That’s the most horrible thing, the fact we’ve had David’s ashes sitting on a cupboard, not being able to deal with them and celebrate his life,” he said.

“This woman put an injunction on my brother’s funeral, on his remains... it’s just absolutely abhorrent.”

He said the family “absolutely” could not, and would never, forgive Dent for her crime.

“She knew what she did, she planned his murder, she watched him die over a number of days... while he was dying, she was on the computer adjusting his will,” he said.

“There can be no room in our hearts at all for forgiveness... this woman is a horrible, evil person ... I hope she lives long and dies slow.”

Dr Lawrence told The Advertiser the family took no issue with the criminal justice system.

David Lawrence, who was murdered by poisoner and black widow Wendie-Sue Dent. Picture: Supplied by the Lawrence family

A handwritten will that Dent claimed had been written by Mr Lawrence – the criminal courts heard she was its author. Source: Supreme Court.

He said their experience had, however, “raised questions” about the civil jurisdiction.

“We are so thankful to be at the end of the criminal part of this episode, the death of our beautiful brother and friend,” he said.

“After a long and rigorous criminal process, she is absolutely, no question, guilty of our brother’s murder for her financial gain.

“However, it seems for some inexplicable reason that the civil court continues to invite her to appeal aspects of the murder conviction.”

Despite having twice been convicted of murdering David, with her own medication, Dent continues to insist she is the sole beneficiary of his $300,000 estate.

She also took out an injunction to prevent his family from interring David’s ashes, and asked they be ordered to pay her $10,000 compensation for “treating her poorly”.

David Lawrence's brother, Phillip, outside court. Picture: Sean Fewster

As a result, David has never had a funeral, and the Lawrences have spent as much as $30,000 a quarter on court fees arguing her lawsuits should be thrown out.

In August, Dent filed a High Court application asking she receive a complete acquittal, rather than a retrial, for Mr Lawrence’s murder.

She claimed that, if she was unsuccessful, she would abandon her claims.

This month, the court rejected her appeal – triggering an urgent application, by the Lawrence family’s counsel, to have Dent’s lawsuits called on and dismissed.

In court, counsel for Dent said she had complied by her previous undertaking and discontinued her claim, as promised.

Simon Ower KC, for the Lawrence family, said his clients would now seek to have Mr Lawrence’s final legitimate will, from 2015, determine dispersal of the estate.

He asked Dent be formally excluded from any legal proceedings to do with that will - Associate Justice Graham Dart agreed, and made an order to that effect.

Outside court, Dr Lawrence said securing Dent’s criminal guilt had “been arduous, but necessary”.

“I want to acknowledge South Australia’s world-class police force … the state should be very proud of SA Police, and we are grateful,” he said.

“However, the civil court system has left us confounded, emotionally drained and in financial debt … it has delivered us many disappointments.