Australia - Allison Baden-Clay, 43, Brisbane QLD, 19 April 2012 - #2

[Strangeworld]

I would imagine they searched his parent's house because he had been staying there. If they were trying to rule him in or out, it would make sense to do this.

I also had another thought about fingerprints. Allison was likely exposed to the conditions for many days (assuming her body was disposed of the night/morning she disappeared). We had rain during that time, so fingerprinting would be difficult. However, say there were fingerprints on the INSIDE of her clothing i.e. I know they can fingerprint clothing, allbeit with some difficulty - it would be odd for someone else's fingerprints to be on the inside of her clothes. If someone else dressed her, it would be likely that fingerprints were left on the inside. Also the same would apply to her body. But I guess it's highly likely that sort of evidence was long gone before they found her? Especially if she was submerged in water.

Is there a chance her body was not fully submerged in water - i.e. I know there's been discussion on where she was found on the bank, possibility of tides, etc. But does that mean she would have been totally submerged?

And another thought, someone previously mentioned that one of the photos (which I saw) appeared to show Allison's body UNDER the bridge - could this have protected her from the rain, and reduced the potential deterioration of trace evidence? Guess it all comes down to how much her body was exposed to the weather and the flowing water.

 

[JK673]

Caseclosed - same reasons i had for my interest in this case

 

[dansw]

My son's father passed away almost 2 years ago. We had been separated for years prior. After his death my son's grandparents had discussed the idea of private schooling, etc. I think it's just grandparents wanting the best for their grandkids. The forward planning of how to best serve the children is something positive, something they can do to make a difference.

AllyG, I get what you are saying but I still think the timing is a little off. There hasn't even been a funeral yet....

 

[Cccclllaareb]

Allison went to IGGS and was vice captain so I can understand having a sense of nostalgia about that and wanting the daughters to have a similar experience. It's just as likely to be about following in her footsteps, a sense of connection, and the lovely experience Allison had there as it is about private school image, in my humble little opinion.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Agree with your point Mrs Norris. Unfortunately our suburb is a 'hotbed' of such material considerations, and being able to send your child to private school is seen as the obvious parentally responsible thing to do - simply feeding and loving your kids isn't enough in much of the 4069 postcode. Sad but true. Allison's motivation would have been loving and genuine, she was already doing all the other material basics, and probably worried if she would be able to afford luxuries for the kids given her husband's supposedly entrepreneurial nature which was probably not matched with the intelligence to pull off business success.

Trust me I get the demographic .. it's just damned inappropriate to mention that right now frankly and shows that they are way too status driven ... Also well above their means, since they obviously can't afford it on their own.

I know criticising her family right now is probably asking for it, but it just shows where the priorities are.

It's not all about social entree people, Paul Keating went to Bankstown High and left when he was 14. It's about who you are.

Perhaps they could have asked for donations for a trust fund for a therapist for the children for instance.

 

[minni]

Statistics indicate that in cases like this, the spouse is generally the culprit. Most cases are not premeditated, but the result of arguments that have escalated and resulted in accidental/unintentional death. Then the cover-up starts.

If you listen to GBC in his interview when he talks about being 'a little bit hurt, but I'm okay' and then you watch the John Sharpe public appeal for help when his wife and daughter were missing(the man who killed his wife and daughter with a spear gun), there mannerisms and expressions are scarily similar, the false, high pitched sort of whine, the pauses.
I am just looking for a link to the John Sharpe video

 

[pinhead]

Whilst it may not be completely true, many people believe that an excellent education is the most valuable gift that you can give a child. The parents experience with Allison and her success at school and afterwards would have reinforced this to them.

 

[marlywings]

I'd like to disagree with the point that the media is 'sensationalising' this case. I think the Courier Mail is a poor excuse for a newspaper, but their coverage (other than their usual typo's and odd statements that eventually change) has been regular so far, and free of major conjecture or completely inaccurate information.

Particularly the space dedicated to Allison in today's paper contained respectful carefully-worded references to the case. Far from sensationalising it, I think they are doing a good job keeping the case in the public eye, and hopefully they will do so until it is solved.

Today's article helped take away some of the anger toward the person responsible and remind me what a wonderful person Allison obviously was, and that most of the emotion around the case should remain around the fact this lovely lady can no longer be there for her 3 daughters. Horrifically sad, but not sensationalised.

Absolutely agree !!! I said something similar last night but you've said it so much better than I did.

Perhaps some are interpretating the media as sensationlising this case just because they've had it in daily headlines. I think also, journos are human too, some of them have been involved in the case since day 1... so of course they'd also be wanting whoever killed Allison brought to justice.

 

[CaseClosed]

Please! Let's stop the bashing of the trust fund or it's timing! We are all different, we all have different dreams for our children and whatever they are, it doesn't make us bad or good or snobbish or not. The trust fund was mentioned by her parents in an interview with a reporter and only in the light of wanting to fulfil one of Allison's dreams. As to whether private or public schools are better, that is a personal opinion of each parent and not necessarily related to status in the community. Let's not discuss the trust fund again.

 

[marlywings]

I have a minor problem with the trust fund to send the kids to private school. It's yet again an example of a desire for social standing and status. I just find that interesting at this time. Look I am from a family which has sent all children to private school for generations, I get it. But I can guarantee you the issue has never come up surrounding a death. It just seems so odd to me. That Allison's wish 'would have been'. I think on both sides of the family there seems to be a little too much 'appearances over reality' going on. JMO.

I think that whole thing re trust fund was straight from Courier Mail...perhaps as a part of gaining their interview with Allison's parents & friend.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Absolutely agree !!! I said something similar last night but you've said it so much better than I did.

Perhaps some are interpretating the media as sensationlising this case just because they've had it in daily headlines. I think also, journos are human too, some of them have been involved in the case since day 1... so of course they'd also be wanting whoever killed Allison brought to justice.

I think the media have actually been surprisingly controlled and have stayed away from speculation. I find this quite unusual. It's like they have been given guidelines by the police and told that they could jeopodise the case by either giving too much info or by leaking information. A journalist's natural instinct is to come up with a scoop.

 

[marlywings]

oooops, sorry CaseClosed, my bad.

 

[mountainhigh]

If you do not agree with trust fund, skip it and ignore it. But Allison dreamt of her girls attending her old school, not because of social standing but because of tradition - their mum was educated there. The school is expensive but many working class people sacrifice to send their kids there. Let's just drop the subject if you do not agree to it. You are not being forced to donate, ok?

Finally! well done...
many different dreams and aspirations out there. This was clearly one that was obviously well known within the family. "i want my little girls to go to Ipswich Grammar because I did and I want them to experience the friendships, the this, the that, the this, the that..
She was Vice Captain. unlike most state schools, private school children have an affinity and connection with thier old school for decades after. I personally think its a bit over the top and cant be bothered but it exists.

Making it public is clearly the issue that some of you have..they havent asked for your money...and it will have nothing to do with the BC's or guilt or innocence..

 

[angel1]

I know this is nothing to do with allison but the QPS are seeking public assistance to help locate a 51-year-old woman who has been reported missing from Cleveland. She went missing on april 20th

 

[UnfoldingTruth]

All I can say right now is I truly hope that the Police can gather any more evidence they can to assist them in making an arrest/s (soon)and letting justice prevail.

Raskolnikov, the Police will definitely be controlling what information is let out to be published at this point and what is not. They need to be careful to no jeopardise the case.

 

[Mrs G Norris]

Please! Let's stop the bashing of the trust fund or it's timing! We are all different, we all have different dreams for our children and whatever they are, it doesn't make us bad or good or snobbish or not. The trust fund was mentioned by her parents in an interview with a reporter and only in the light of wanting to fulfil one of Allison's dreams. As to whether private or public schools are better, that is a personal opinion of each parent and not necessarily related to status in the community. Let's not discuss the trust fund again.

What about the idea that there is an appearances over substance element to both families...even in the parents interview they said that Allison would never have wanted to LOOK like a failure. There really is a lesson here from her side as well in my opinion, and it's an important one.

 

[minni]

Keyboredom - Thanks for the list of facts etc, very helpful. When this headache goes away I'll have a better look at it and see if there is anything else needing to be added.

But for now I do have a couple of comments about these points -

- Allison was found wearing the clothes (or something like the clothes) someone described she would be wearing - most likely GBC. He could have assumed this by guessing she was wearing her usual walking outfit or by clothes missing from her room/wardrobe-

I dont know too many husbands that could look in a womans cupboards and wardrobe and work out what was missing. I dont agree with your implication here. I believe this is a difficult point - if Allison always wears the same thing when out walking, and she really did go out walking (which we are not sure even happened), then he may, and then it's only a may, have known what she had on. But if she had a range of different things she wore he wouldnt have known because from his story he did not see her leave the house. Aren't we still working on the premise that he has said he saw her at night watching TV, and she was gone in the morning when he woke up, he assumed she was on her regular walk and then he raised the alrm when she was 1/2 late in returning?

I think on the clothing point it should be - "there is a question mark over how GBC knew what she was wearing."


Regarding the clothing, my issue with this is that there is really no evidence that Allison ever went for a walk at all. I think GBC has slipped up - if he had thought out his story more he would have said he didnt know what she had on because he didnt see her leave the house. He may have said to the police :"this is what she usually wore" I suppose.

if he was innocent, it could be explained as such: maybe these are the clothes he last saw her in...maybe they weren't at the house when he realised she was not home the following morning, and Iits reasonable to think she probably has one favourite pair of walking shoes that she wears regularly?

 

[Cccclllaareb]

I think the media have actually been surprisingly controlled and have stayed away from speculation. I find this quite unusual. It's like they have been given guidelines by the police and told that they could jeopodise the case by either giving too much info or by leaking information. A journalist's natural instinct is to come up with a scoop.

Oh funny! Because whilst I think they have managed to avoid making overt speculations, in general I have found the language incredibly loaded and quite biased. This isn't necessarily a criticism either, thats just how things are in reporting. Like I said before, we all interpret things differently too.

The reason I made the comment was to try to draw attention to the fact that we aren't fully informed so perhaps need to remind ourselves to keep an open mind and not be overly judgemental.

 

[Gorecki]

I would imagine they searched his parent's house because he had been staying there. If they were trying to rule him in or out, it would make sense to do this.

I also had another thought about fingerprints. Allison was likely exposed to the conditions for many days (assuming her body was disposed of the night/morning she disappeared). We had rain during that time, so fingerprinting would be difficult. However, say there were fingerprints on the INSIDE of her clothing i.e. I know they can fingerprint clothing, allbeit with some difficulty - it would be odd for someone else's fingerprints to be on the inside of her clothes. If someone else dressed her, it would be likely that fingerprints were left on the inside. Also the same would apply to her body. But I guess it's highly likely that sort of evidence was long gone before they found her? Especially if she was submerged in water.

Is there a chance her body was not fully submerged in water - i.e. I know there's been discussion on where she was found on the bank, possibility of tides, etc. But does that mean she would have been totally submerged?

My contact in the Forensic Branch has said that the body was in a horrific state of decomp (many seasoned officers were traumatised). They couldn't get Allison's prints to identify her.

 

[ozprincessinoz]

AllyG, I get what you are saying but I still think the timing is a little off. There hasn't even been a funeral yet....

I'm assuming it's been bought up because of the intense interest. No doubt many people have offered donations to the girls already. It was bought up on this site much earlier as well. Sometimes it's the public's was of dealing with tragedy - wanting to help by donating money. IMHO I'm guessing the grandparents have been offered money and have decided it would be best put into an education fund for the girls. I don't think they are the type to put forward a call asking for donations.