Lisa Wilkinson confronts domestic violence killer’s lawyer: ‘A woman is dead and four children are without their mother’

LISA Wilkinson has confronted the lawyer who secured the release of a Gold Coast man who went on to stab his wife to death.

ANTI-domestic violence campaigner Lisa Wilkinson has confronted the lawyer who successfully argued for David Bradford’s release from jail, two weeks before the Gold Coast man stabbed his wife to death.

Today co-host grilled Mark Donnelly, who represented Mr Bradford two weeks ago, asking him to justify why the 52-year-old was free to kill his wife Teresa and himself on Tuesday, which left their four children orphaned.

“You’re happy with the situation as it stands ... A woman is dead and four children are without their mother,” Ms Wilkinson said, after the lawyer said Queensland’s current bail system was effective.

Lisa spoke to Mark Donnelly, the lawyer who represented David Bradford. #9Today pic.twitter.com/wfejDBlrzW

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) February 1, 2017

Mr Donnelly, who only met Mr Bradford the day he defended him in the Gold Coast’s specialist domestic violence court, insisted Mrs Bradford’s death was “not an event that anyone could have foreseen”.

His comments came despite the fact Mr Bradford had served 44 days in jail for a violent, November 28 attack on Mrs Bradford.

On that day, he bashed her into unconsciousness, gaffer taped her mouth and dragged her across a room in her home by the hair.

Mr Donnelly even told the Today co-host that Mr Bradford, who had no criminal history, should not have spent as much time in custody as he did.

Ms Wilkinson was having none of it.

Teresa Bradford was stabbed to death by her husband.

The murder-suicide by Dave Bradford left his and Teresa’s four children orphaned.

“How do we avoid this, Mark? How do we avoid women dying at the hands of a system that allows people capable of murder out on bail?” she asked him.

He replied: “I think that with the current community attitude towards domestic violence, awareness increasing and people being able to contact centres like DV Connect and those organisations, which put people like Mrs Bradford in touch with those who can assist, and just greater community awareness.

“If the laws need to be tightened, that’s a matter for parliament.”

Wilkinson replied: “But Mark, Teresa Bradford reached out to authorities and no-one helped her.”

Four court orders were in place at the time Mr Bradford killed his wife at her home, after breaking in on Tuesday morning.

Among the orders were that he not go within 100 metres of her, except for court appearances.

Teresa and Dave Bradford had separated but friends said she was “terrified” when he was released from jail.

Ms Wilkinson has been a passionate, long-time, anti-domestic violence campaigner.

In 2015, she issued a passionate plea to the Federal Government to restore funding for domestic violence services, after a horror September week on the Gold Coast when two women were violently killed by their estranged partners.

“Violence against women in this country has now reached epidemic proportions,” she said at the time.

“Sixty-two women have died in 2015 and its only September. That’s almost two women a week. “And this is all happening against a backdrop of women’s refuges being closed, as calls to the national crisis assistance line go unanswered due to lack of funding, and we rely on a system that turns women ... away, in their moment of greatest need.

“And the thing we know? It will happen again. And again. And again. But how many more women have to die before we do something?”

Two months later, she led a passionate campaign to reinstate the murder conviction of Brisbane real estate agent Gerard Baden-Clay, after it was downgraded to m, under on appeal.

Ms Wilkinson hosted a protest rally attended by thousands in Brisbane, which ultimately saw the case referred to the High Court and the murder conviction restored.