‘Daddy put mummy in the fire’: Children’s petrified screams as mum brutally killed
Kelly Wilkinson’s petrified children witnessed her brutal murder at the hands of her estranged husband who stabbed her in the neck and set her on fire.
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Kelly Wilkinson’s petrified children witnessed her brutal murder at the hands of her estranged husband who stabbed her in the neck and set her on fire, with their little girl later telling police: “Daddy came in and put Mummy in the fire.”
The mother of three’s devastated loved ones lashed her killer Brian Earl Johnston as “pure evil” as he was sentenced to life imprisonment on Wednesday, describing him as a “monster”.
It can now be revealed that Johnston had been charged with raping his estranged wife Ms Wilkinson, 27, in the weeks before he murdered her, with the judge finding he had been motivated to “silence her” in those proceedings.
Johnston, a former United States Marine, strenuously denies the four counts of rape and will defend the charges at a future trial.
The Supreme Court in Brisbane heard Ms Wilkinson was so fearful of her estranged husband in the lead-up to her death that she created a code to alert them if she was in danger.
If she wrote, “I’m considering moving back to Ohio”, in their family group chat, it was a warning that something was dreadfully wrong.
On the morning of April 20, 2021, her worst fears came true when Johnston ambushed her in the back yard of her home about 6.30am.
Items including a hangman’s noose, zip ties, a crowbar, knives and duct tape were found at the heavily blood-spattered crime scene.
Drawn by the sounds of an argument, a woman yelling “please stop” and the screams of their horrified children, neighbours from nearby homes came to investigate, using garden hoses to battle the metres high flames, yelling for the children to flee inside away from the inferno.
“Daddy came in and put Mummy in the fire,” one of them would later tell police.
The children, aged just eight, six and two, ran to a neighbour’s home where they pleaded for help, saying: “Someone is hurting Mummy.”
“(Ms Wilkinson’s daughter) told the police that she had woken up that morning and saw her brother standing at the back door crying,” Crown Prosecutor Philip McCarthy KC told the court.
“She got up from the couch where she had been sleeping and went to the back door and saw the fire, she saw that her mother was on fire, she saw her daddy being bad and formed the impression that Daddy came in and put Mummy in the fire.”
Johnston, whom a judge found intended to kill himself along with Ms Wilkinson, jumped in the family’s pool to save himself before fleeing from the scene.
He was later found with severe burns, ligature marks to his neck and lacerations to his wrists.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the horrific domestic violence murder.
He will be eligible for parole in 2041 after he has served 20 years in custody.
The court was told that in the weeks before the murder, Johnston had been charged with the alleged rape of Ms Wilkinson.
Those four counts of rape are still before the Southport Magistrates Court.
Johnston will defend the charges.
Justice Peter Applegarth stressed that while those sexual assault allegations formed part of the factual background of the murder case, it did not mean the charges were proven or that Johnston was guilty of those crimes.
“Their relevance is you were acutely aware and concerned that she had made those allegations against you,” he said.
Johnston stabbed Ms Wilkinson multiple times in the neck and chest before dousing her in petrol and setting her on fire.
“I cannot be sure how precisely you intended to kill your wife, and then yourself,” Justice Applegarth said.
“The mask, the duct tape, the knives, and the petrol tell us that you had a premeditated plan to detain her and to kill her.
“You obviously wanted to silence her from being a witness in pending proceedings.
“You may have simply wanted to kill her because you had lost control of her and thought she should be your possession.”
Justice Applegarth said the murder was a crime of “extreme domestic violence” and had been committed in spite of two court orders designed to protect Ms Wilkinson.
By going to Ms Wilkinson’s home on the day of the murder, Johnston breached bail conditions for the rape charges and a separate domestic violence protection order.
“Whatever your deluded and antediluvian beliefs, Kelly Wilkinson was not yours to control,” Justice Applegarth told Johnston. “You ignored her dignity and her autonomy.
“You brutally killed her in a sustained attack with knives and burnt her to death.
“You did this with your children able to witness this extreme violence.”
Justice Applegarth said the trauma inflicted on Ms Wilkinson’s friends and family had been “enormous, debilitating, and devastating”.
Defence barrister Kim Bryson said Johnston had served two tours in Iraq as a United States Marine and was exposed to nerve agents and the suicide of colleagues.
She said he had qualified as an aircraft mechanic before his discharge in 2010 due to a knee injury.
Ms Bryson said Johnston was suffering from suicidal ideations around the time of the murder and reported that his mental health was at an all-time low during that period.
Ms Bryson said Johnston had asked to address the court and Ms Wilkinson’s family, who rejected the request.
The petrified screams of Kelly Wilkinson’s three children pierced the peaceful early morning silence of their usually quiet Arundel neighbourhood on April 20, 2021.
“Daddy came in and put mummy in the fire,” one of them would later tell police.
The children were aged just eight, six and two when their father Brian Earl Johnston ambushed Ms Wilkinson in the backyard of her Gold Coast home, stabbing her in the neck and chest before dousing her in petrol and setting her alight.
Drawn by the sounds of an argument, a woman yelling “please stop”, barking dogs, and the screams of the horrified children, neighbours used garden hoses to battle the metres high flames, yelling at the kids to flee inside away from the inferno.
The distressed children ran to a neighbour’s home where they pleaded for help, saying: “someone is hurting mummy”.
“(Ms Wilkinson’s daughter) told the police that she’d woken up that morning and saw her brother standing at the back door crying,” Crown Prosecutor Philip McCarthy KC told the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday.
“She got up from the couch where she had been sleeping and went to the back door and saw the fire, she saw that her mother was on fire, she saw her daddy being bad and formed the impression that daddy came in and put mummy in the fire.”
Johnston, whom a judge found intended to kill himself along with Ms Wilkinson, jumped in the family’s pool to save himself before fleeing the scene.
He was later found with severe burns, ligature marks to his neck and lacerations to his wrists.
On Wednesday, the former US Marine was sentenced to life imprisonment for the horrific domestic violence murder of 27-year-old Ms Wilkinson.
He will be eligible for parole in 2041 after he has served 20 years in custody.
The court heard that the mother-of-three was so fearful of her estranged husband that she organised a code to alert them if she was in trouble.
If she wrote “I’m considering moving back to Ohio” in their family group chat, it was a warning that something was dreadfully wrong.
In the weeks before the murder, Johnston was charged with the alleged rape of Ms Wilkinson.
Those four counts of rape are still before the Southport Magistrates Court the court Johnston will defend the charges at a future trial.
Justice Peter Applegarth stressed that while those sexual allegations formed part of the factual background of the murder case, it did not mean the charges were proven or that Johnston was guilty of those crimes.
“Their relevance is you were acutely aware and concerned that she had made those allegations against you,” he said.
Johnston stabbed Ms Wilkinson multiple times in the neck and chest before dousing her in petrol and setting her on fire.
Items including a hangman’s noose, zip ties, a crow bar, knives and duct tape were found at the heavily blood spattered crime scene.
“I cannot be sure how precisely you intended to kill your wife, and then yourself,” Justice Applegarth said.
“The mask, the duct tape, the knives, and the petrol tell us that you had a premeditated plan to detain her and to kill her.
“You obviously wanted to silence her from being a witness in pending proceedings. You may have simply wanted to kill her because you had lost control of her and thought she should be your possession.”
Justice Applegarth said the murder was a crime of “extreme domestic violence” and committed in spite of two court orders designed to protect her.
By going to Ms Wilkinson’s home on the day of the murder, he breached the bail conditions for the rape charges and a separate domestic violence protection order.
“Whatever your deluded and antediluvian beliefs, Kelly Wilkinson was not yours to control,” Justice Applegarth told Johnston.
“You ignored her dignity and her autonomy.”
“You brutally killed her in a sustained attack with knives and burnt her to death. You did this with your children able to witness this extreme violence.”
Justice Applegarth said the trauma to Ms Wilkinson’s friends and family had been “enormous, debilitating, and devastating”.
Defence barrister Kim Bryson said Johnston had served two tours in Iraq as a United States Marine and was exposed to nerve agents and the suicide of colleagues.
She said he had qualified as an aircraft mechanic before his discharge from the defence force in 2010 due to a knee injury.
Ms Bryson said Johnston was suffering from suicidal ideations around the time of the murder and reported his mental health was at an all time low during that period.
Ms Bryson said Johnston had asked to address the court and Ms Wilkinson’s family who rejected the request.
Originally published as ‘Daddy put mummy in the fire’: Children’s petrified screams as mum brutally killed
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