Blatant clue mum noticed after first seeing Audrey Griffin’s body

The moment Kathleen Kirby laid eyes on her beloved daughter’s body, she knew the “bright, fearless” university student had been murdered.

For Kathleen Kirby, the sickening realisation was instantaneous.

Just days after her daughter, 19-year-old Audrey Griffin, was found dead in a Gosford creek, Kathleen was taken to say her final goodbyes.

While police told Kathleen her daughter’s death had been ruled a misadventure, the signs on Audrey’s body told her mother a much more sinister story.

“I pulled the sheets down, and I saw things that no mother should have to see,” Kathleen recounted to former detective Gary Jubelin on this week’s episode of his I Catch Killers podcast.

“It was just wrong. I knew. I knew when I saw her,” she continued.

“I pulled the sheets down, and I saw things that no mother should have to see. She had makeup under her eyes. Her hair was plaited, and it was full of mud and twigs. I’m not going to go any further, because no one needs to know that, but that’s what triggered me, and I knew [there was foul play involved]. I could see that she’d been crawling in the mud. I knew it wasn’t misadventure.”

But the most chilling proof that Audrey’s death was more than misadventure was on her hands.

“Something that really struck home with Kathleen was that Audrey’s fingernails had mud underneath, like she was struggling, like she was fighting,” Jubelin reflected at the scene.

“That would be one of the first things you’re looking for when you’re looking at a post-mortem of a deceased person in these situations.”

As it turned out, what was under Audrey’s fingernails was more than just mud.

Audrey Griffin’s death was initially treated by police as “misadventure”. Picture: Supplied.

Her mother Kathleen took one look at her body and knew she had been murdered. Picture: Supplied

The 19-year-old was found face down in Erina Creek. Picture: Rohan Kelly

An avoidable tragedy

On the morning of March 23 this year, Audrey - a “bright, fearless” university student who had just secured a position in the Navy - was last seen alive at the Gosford Hotel.

She was walking to a friend’s place just eight kilometres away, having chosen the lit, main-road route along the waterfront, trying to secure a taxi in the late hours.

“I just want to say that Audrey wasn’t intoxicated, nor did she have any drugs in the system,” adds Katheen.

“Those results have come back, and that’s another thing that’s traumatised us, because there were [tests] and things that we needed to do to find out those answers, and it was something very hard for me, to say goodbye to my girl, my daughter, when they had to do those things.”

Audrey never made it to her friend’s place.

Her body was discovered hours later, face down in a creek.

And while the initial ruling of her death as misadventure muddied the water, it was her family’s relentless pursuit of the truth, driven by Kathleen’s gut instinct, that eventually forced a major shift.

Face of pure evil: Adrian Torrens was later charged with the murder of Audrey. Picture: Supplied

The 53-year-old was a violent abuser out on bail at the time who had never met Audrey. Picture: Supplied

Weeks after the initial findings, police charged 53-year-old Adrian Torrens with Audrey’s murder.

Torrens was a complete stranger to Audrey. He was also a violent abuser who was out on bail at the time, facing 11 unrelated domestic violence charges and having consistently breached AVOs relating to his former wife.

Torrens subsequently took his own life while in custody, robbing Audrey’s family of a courtroom trial but confirming Kathleen’s darkest suspicions: Torrens’ DNA was found under Audrey’s fingernails.

As a former homicide detective, it’s one element of the investigation Jubelin finds hardest to swallow.

“The fact that the police said there was no suspicion attached to the post-mortem,” he says, “is something I find quite alarming.”

“DNA from the offender, Torrens, was found under Audrey’s fingernails. That would be one of the first things you’re looking for when you’re looking at a post-mortem of a deceased person in these situations.”

Kathleen learned her daughter’s murderer had taken his own life in custody while at a vigil where thousands had gathered on Terrigal Beach. Picture: NewsWire/Damian Shaw

Former detective Gary Jubelin (left, with Kathleen) was stunned police took so long to discover DNA under Audrey’s fingernails. Picture: Supplied

A mother’s mission

Frustrated with what she perceived as a lack of action on the part of police, Kathleen took matters into her own hands, canvassing houses and businesses near where Audrey’s body had been found.

“I went back to [police], and I said, ‘this is not a misadventure’, and they said ‘Kathleen, it is,’” she tells Jubelin.

“So you actually had that conversation?” he asks.

“Many, many, many, many times,” Kathleen continues, “I’ve got witnesses. I brought people with me the whole time.”

After canvassing the area and going door-to-door to see if she could find any witnesses, Kathleen discovered many of the locals hadn’t spoken to police at all.

“I went door knocking, and then I went in [to the police station] to see footage [that had been recovered], and I walked in and I said to him, ‘so, you told me that you’ve gone door to door?’ He said, ‘yes’. I said, ‘because I’ve got the phone numbers, and shall I get them out now and ring them? Because I’ve just come from their houses and nobody’s had any contact.’”

It was in the course of her own investigation that Kathleen discovered a horrific - but crucial - piece of evidence.

“As it turned out, one of the people in the houses across there heard a female screaming at about 2:45,” Jubelin says, “sadly, it was most likely Audrey fighting for her life.”

Kathleen took matters into her own hands when police insisted her daughter’s death was accidental, canvassing the area and finding a witness who heard a scream. Picture: Supplied

The family have been unable to find closure or solace after Audrey’s cowardly killer took his own life before facing justice in a courtroom. Picture: LinkedIn

Another piece of evidence missed by police was picked up by Lana, one of Kathleen’s friends.

In spite of being told the area had been searched on numerous occasions, Lana decided to search at low tide - something that hadn’t yet been done. She found the phone sticking out of the bank and immediately called police, who she says - shockingly - told her to “pick it up and bring it to the police station.”

“Thankfully, Lana was a little bit more cluey on that and spoke to another police officer, who sent police down immediately to collect the phone and gather it as potential evidence,” Jubelin explains.

“If Lana was to pick up the phone, potentially it could have been contaminated. There potentially could have been DNA or fingerprints or some evidence, trace material on the phone from the offender.”

Eventually, police took Torrens into custody - where only a few days later, he died by suicide.

The news came as Audrey’s family and loved ones were holding a vigil in her honour.

And while Kathleen says she is grateful he will “never be out to hurt another child or another woman or another man,” she hasn’t found closure or solace since her daughter’s murder.

“I wouldn’t say I have a life anymore,” she admitted to Jubelin, “I just feel like I’m just existing and not living.”

Her fight now is for answers and for the memory of her “amazing child.”

“I am going to fight all the way for justice,” she says.

“Audrey will never be a number. She’ll never be just that child. She is my child.”