Candlelight vigil held in Maryborough for murder victim Linda Lovett

A candlelight vigil has been held in Maryborough for an “invisible” murder victim and a plaque has been unveiled to ensure her memory will never be forgotten.

A candlelight vigil has been held to honour the memory of a Maryborough murder victim.

The event, hosted by Maryborough’s Zonta Club, was held in Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens, unveiled a plaque on a bench in memory of Linda Lovett.

The project to create a memorial for Ms Lovett was funded by the Fraser Coast Regional Council and spearheaded by the Zonta Club.

Ms Lovett, a Thai sex worker, was brutally murdered by a client when they met at a Maryborough motel after he found her via a classified ad.

The man, who had secretly brought a knife with him, arrived and showered before the two engaged in sexual activities.

Fraser Coast Chronicle reporter Carlie Walker and Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour at the memorial for Linda Lovett.

After he had gotten what he wanted, he approached Ms Lovett and stabbed her multiple times to her head, neck and upper body.

She did not make it far outside the door before she succumbed to her wounds, which included a cut to the neck – later determined as the cause of death due to blood loss.

After the man was sentenced to life in prison earlier this year for her murder, the Fraser Coast Chronicle campaigned for a memorial to honour Ms Lovett, who had no family in Australia and whom little was known about.

Linda Lovett memorial bench at Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens, Maryborough.

On Friday night, members of the Zonta Club, police officers who had worked to solve Ms Lovett’s murder, Chronicle journalists and Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour paid tribute to her memory as a bench with a plaque in her memory was officially unveiled.

Carlie Walker from the Fraser Coast Chronicle, who covered the sentencing of Ms Lovett’s killer at Maryborough Supreme Court in May, spoke at the event, saying it was hard to speak in memory of someone who she didn’t know.

“On that day, as I listened to the brutal facts surrounding Linda’s murder family and friends sat on his side of the room.

“But Linda, who was a Thai national, had no family there to hear the terrible details.

“There was no one there who could pay tribute to her, or tell me about the kind of person she was or even share a photo so we would know what she looked like in life.”

The Zonta event for the Linda Lovett memorial was held at Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens.

Ms Lovett had been alone as she was murdered and was alone again as the man who killed her was sentenced to life in prison, Ms Walker said.

But the memorial would change all that.

“I’ve never had the chance to speak to Linda’s family or understand what she was like as a person,” she said.

“I’ve wondered often how Linda would feel about having a memorial in her name.

“That’s a question for which I will never have an answer.

“I can only hope it is what she would want.

“Most of all, I would hope Linda would know she is no longer alone.”

Fraser Coast Chronicle reporter Carlie Walker spoke at the memorial for Linda Lovett.

Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour also spoke at the memorial event.

“None of us knew Linda... none of us have a photo of her... none of us knows her whole story,” he said.

“As a community, I think we need to make sure that everybody is looked after, that everybody is part of a community and that we live in a world without this type of violence.

“When something happens like this within our community, that is the type of thing that needs to spur us on to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

“What happens to the least of us, happens to all of us.”

The project to create a memorial for Ms Lovett was funded by the Fraser Coast Regional Council and spearheaded by the Zonta Club of Maryborough.

On Saturday, the public will also be invited to the Zonta Club’s walk against gender-based violence.

It will begin at 9am with a walk from Maryborough City Hall to the Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens.