DV victim Alicia Little’s life of coercive control before fiancé fatally crushed her with car

After Alicia Little was killed, the true extent of what the mum-of-three went through was revealed when some startling items were found in her home.

Two weeks before Alicia Little was killed by her fiancé Charles Parker Evans, the mother-of-three gave her family a chilling warning she knew she could be close to death.

Alicia’s mother, Lee Little, recalls sitting with her daughter at her home in regional Victoria. It was a hot summer’s day, just weeks out from Christmas, 2017.

“She said, ‘I’ve got something to ask you, Mum … if anything happens to me, will you bring me home?’,” Lee Little said.

“When she asked me it threw me a little bit and I asked her, ‘do you have a premonition that something is going to happen?’

And she said, ‘I just want to know that I’m going to be home’.”

“I promise, I’ll bring you home,” Mrs Little told her daughter.

Tragically it was a promise Mrs Little would be able to fulfil by December 28, 2017, when Alicia was crushed to death by Evans’ Toyota HiLux at the property where the couple lived in Kyneton, near the Macedon Ranges.

A court would later hear the couple were having an argument, which became abusive, and that Alicia – a 41-year-old mother of four young children – had been packing her bags to leave when she was fatally hit and killed.

Statistics show one of the most dangerous times for a domestic violence victim or survivor is immediately prior to, during or after leaving the relationship.

Hannah Clarke and Rowan Baxter with their son Trey and daughters (L-R) Aaliyah Anne and Laianah Grace. Picture: Supplied.

It was during this period Brisbane mother Hannah Clarke and her three young daughters, were murdered by her estranged husband, Baxter in 2020.

After reading an article on Hannah Clarke’s murder, Mrs Little was able to identify heartbreaking similarities between the abusive behaviours of coercive control both Hannah and Alicia were subjected to before their deaths.

“Everything was always controlled,” said Mrs Little.

“The control of money, the control of bills – Alicia paid the bills but everything was controlled. Alcohol, walking, taking the dogs for a walk.”

Alicia's mother, Lee Little continues to fight to raise awareness of domestic violence and the signs of coercive control in the aftermath of her daughter’s tragic death. Picture: Mark Stewart

Hannah Clarke’s friends and family shared a similar narrative, describing a husband who would look through his wife’s phone, constantly phone to check up on her, and dictate what she wore, even banning certain colours.

Like Ms Clarke’s parents’, Mrs Little has continued to speak out about domestic violence following her daughters’ death and has helped agitate for the criminalisation of coercive control in Australia.

She wants friends and family members to be aware of the hidden signs of abuse, the signs that she now regrets allowing her own daughter to explain away with excuses.

“Alisha came [over] one time earlier in the piece and she had a lot of makeup on – and I thought that was really unusual because she didn’t usually wear a lot of makeup – and sunglasses on, and she had a long shirt on and it was a hot day here.

“We live out in the country and I said to her, ‘What’s going on?’

And she said, ‘No nothing Mum’”

And I said, ‘Has he been bashing you?’

She said, ‘Oh, we had an argument, but he reckons it was my fault’,” Mrs Little recalled.

“You know, it was always her fault. If things weren’t cooked properly, if the washing wasn’t off the line. Their place wasn’t clean. You know, if the dogs hadn’t been fed, it was just a continuous line of things.”

Alicia Quay-Little was 41 and a mother-of-four when she was killed by her fiancé. Picture: Supplied.

Mrs Little realised the tragic lengths her daughter was going to just to try and maintain communication with the outside world throughout her abusive relationship once she entered her home after her death. Mrs Little discovered seven mobile phones secreted in hiding places around her house.
“When we started packing up the house a day-and-a-half after Alicia’s life was taken – behind the washing machine, underneath the vanity – we found two [phones hidden] in two different places.

“And then we found one stuck underneath a drawer of the cupboard, and all of these phones had ten dollars worth of credit in them,” Mrs Little said.

To watch more exclusive interviews visit True Crime with Amelia Saw

Originally published as DV victim Alicia Little’s life of coercive control before fiancé fatally crushed her with car