Woman told to give estranged husband ‘a break’ by authorities days before he killed her

Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence which some readers may find distressing.

An Australian woman was told by police to give her estranged husband 'a break' just a matter of days before he brutally took her life.

Kelly Wilkinson, a 27-year-old mother-of-three, was turned away from Southport police station in Queensland and told to 'cool off and give Brian a break' while seeking help just four days before her estranged husband, Brian Earl Johnston, burned her to death on 20 April 2021, an inquest has heard.

Johnston, 37, pleaded guilty to Wilkinson’s murder back in 2024, with Justice Peter Applegarth sentencing him to life in prison.

The court found he repeatedly stabbed Wilkinson and used a 20-litre jerry can of petrol to set her on fire early in the morning at her Gold Coast home.

The shocking claim surfaced in an extraordinary last-minute submission by the lawyer representing Wilkinson's family as they successfully sought to adjourn the coronial inquiry so additional evidence about the allegation could be heard, the Guardian reports.

A new inquest is examining police interactions with an Australian woman before her estranged husband murdered her (Getty Stock Images)

Their lawyer, Mitch Rawlings, told the inquest that Queensland police’s claim that 12 April 2021 was the last time Wilkinson engaged with police was incorrect, noting that she also attended the police station on 16 April, four days before her murder, but there is no record of that visit in the internal police system.

The lawyer stated: "One of Kelly’s sisters drove her to the Southport police station, where she remained in the car while Kelly got out of the car with some documents.

"She returned to the car moments later and complained that the person at the front desk turned her away saying words to the effect of, 'Just cool off, give Brian a break', words to that effect'."

Rawlings said Wilkinson then phoned two other people and repeated the same account.

He said Wilkinson’s sister, Danielle Carroll, later made the allegation during an interview with police after Wilkinson’s death.

Last Thursday (5 March) was scheduled to be the final day of a three-day hearing into Wilkinson’s murder.

The 27-year-old mother-of-three was murdered by Brian Johnston in 2021 (GoFundMe)

Deputy state coroner Stephanie Gallagher had already heard earlier in the week that police missed two opportunities to act in the days before Wilkinson’s death.

The court heard on Wednesday (4 March) last week that one officer improperly granted bail to Johnston eight days before he murdered Wilkinson.

Another officer wrongly recorded Wilkinson’s attendance at Southport and wrote in an internal police log that she was 'cop shopping' while making a complaint because she had visited another station earlier the same day.

Katherine McGree, representing the Gold Coast-based Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, argued that the 16 April incident could amount to a third missed opportunity, saying that the centre had forwarded a complaint from Wilkinson to the police requesting a review of her matter.

On 13 April, an officer emailed back advising her to return to the police station if she had evidence to support her complaint, McGree said.

"Kelly was, in fact, following the advice that she had received from Queensland police. She fronted at the counter, and she was turned away," McGree told the court.

Gallagher adjourned the inquest to a later date so the new evidence could be examined.

"These are allegations at this time, and there’s an investigation that will follow," she said.

Brian Earl Johnston has been sentenced to life in prison (Facebook)

The coroner heard Wilkinson contacted police four times before her murder, not including the alleged 16 April visit.

She had been identified as a high-risk aggrieved party, meaning 'proactive police response to risk is recommended' yet a referral to a specialist domestic violence liaison officer was never opened, and no safety plan was prepared.

Outside court, Carroll thanked the coroner for 'having a closer look at the issues around Kelly’s death'.

"All that Kelly wanted from life was to love and be loved, and there are no words for the way she suffered in her last moments," she told the inquest earlier on Thursday.

"There will never be any words to pass on to her children to make them feel okay. A mother can never be replaced."

Tyla has reached out to Queensland Police for further comment.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, please know that you are not alone. You can talk in confidence to the national domestic violence helpline Refuge on 0808 2000 247, available 24/7, or via live chat, available 10am-10pm, Monday to Friday.