Gerard Baden-Clay

On the morning of Friday, April 20, 2012, Allison Baden-Clay failed to return home from a walk.  Gerard Baden-Clay notified authorities who sprang into action looking for the missing woman.  Why so soon?  Why did authorities feel that this simply wasn’t the case of a missing person?  Listen to the story of betrayal, deceit, and an angry caterpillar and decide for yourself!

Location

Brisbane is a city in the Queensland state in Australia and the third most populous city in the country. It’s named after the river it is located beside. Even though it’s along a river the city built an urban beach that’s the size of five Olympic swimming pools. 80 tons of white sand is trucked in every year to help maintain the “Streets Beach.”

60 Minutes Australia aired an episode in 2014 which is linked in the show notes. I recommend watching it if you would like to see some of the individuals we’ll be talking about and some of the evidence. 

Disappeared

On Friday, April 20, 2012, around 7:12 am Gerard Bayden-Clay phoned authorities to report that his 43-year-old wife Allison was missing. Allison had gone for a walk sometime in the early morning hours from their affluent neighborhood of Brookfield. This was something she did regularly according to Gerard. However, she did not return in time for breakfast the next day.

This was also what he told Allison’s parents 

The police immediately began their missing person investigation. They asked neighbors if they had seen anything or if they could recall seeing either of the Bayden-Clay’s cars between the hours of 8:30 pm that Thursday through 8:00 am Friday. The cars were a Holden Captiva and a Toyota Prado.

Immediately a search began involving hundreds of volunteers and police that would continue for 10 days. This was an exhaustive search over difficult terrain involving helicopters and police on horseback. They searched the nearby mountain forest in the D-Aguilar National Park. Firefighters also searched closed mineshafts.

Sergeant Sharky Lange coordinated all of these efforts. On April 23rd, police set up a mannequin in the Bayden-Clay front yard with the same outfit Allison was last seen wearing as reported by Gerard.

In the end, it would not be the police that found Allison, but a kayaker. The kayaker was on the Kholo Creek near Anstead on April 30th. Allison was found around 11 am along the muddy banks of the creek. She was wearing exercise attire and lying on her side. Her arms were splayed out and she was in an advanced stage of decomposition. Her blue top had been pulled over her head which suggested she had been dragged. Allison’s identity was confirmed through dental records.

Beauty Queen

Allison June Dickie was born on July 1, 1968. She was the second of three children born to Priscilla & Geoff Dickie. She grew up in the working-class neighborhood of Redbank. At the age of 4, she began her lifelong interest in ballet. She had hopes of opening her own ballet studio. In 1994, at the age of 25 Allison won the Miss Brisbane Beauty Pageant. Allison stood about 5 foot 6 inches and had a slim build.   She spoke five languages: Japanese, Dutch, French, German, and Swedish.

Allison was working for Flight Centre (airport) as the head of human resources when she met Gerard Bayden-Clay. He was working out of their Toombul office. In 1997 they married on August 23rd.

Gerard Baden-Clay was born on September 9, 1970, in Bournemouth, England. He grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to Australia with his parents and two younger siblings when he was 10 years old. He was the great-grandson of Scouts (Boy Scouts of America) founder Robert Baden-Powell. Gerard stands about 6 feet with short brown hair and an average build.

After Gerard and Allison married they moved to England. In 1999 they returned to Australia In 2004 Gerard and Allison both worked for Century 21 Real Estate Company. Gerard Baden-Clay was the managing director. He eventually entered into a partnership with two others with Gerard handling the finances for their real estate company.

Gerard and Allison had three children, all girls.

The Other Woman

In 2007 Toni McHugh was a client of Gerard’s real estate company and soon was taken on as an agent. Toni was a married mother when the two began an affair in August 2008. They each told the other their marital problems. Gerard told Toni that he was only in his marriage for his daughters and did not love his wife. Toni ended up leaving her marriage of 17 years. Gerard had told Toni that he planned on leaving his wife and marrying her one day

Three and a half years later Allison found out about the affair. This resulted in not only ending the affair but with Toni being fired from Gerard’s Century 21 firm in October 2011. A friend eventually helped her secure a position with Remax Real Estate Company. This friend had been a business partner of Gerard’s and that is how they met Toni.

Four months later the two would reconnect. The pair met at a coffee shop. Gerard Baden-Clay showed up not wearing his wedding ring. He told Toni that he loved her and planned on leaving his wife. In the past, he said he couldn’t leave Allison due to Allison suffering from depression. Gerard had also established a fake email account so the two could communicate without Allison knowing.

Per Gerard, Allison was looking at his phone calls and text messages and had even placed a curfew on him. This would have been a surprise to Allison since the couple were going through marriage counseling and had no plans on divorcing. In fact, the couple had attended a marriage counseling session three days before her disappearance.

Double Life

Gerard Baden-Clay liked to put on appearances of being a middle-class devoted husband and father. His standing in the community and how the community viewed him were important to him. The reality was something quite different.

Gerard had of course reignited his relationship with Toni McHugh. Gerard didn’t seem to be working on his marriage and usually degraded Allison openly in front of others. During some business outings that Gerard and Toni attended together, they would be openly affectionate towards one another publically.

He also owed a lot of money to various friends and business associates. At one point, Gerard told his business partners that they were in financial trouble. This shocked them as they had been having an excellent year and wondered where had all the money gone. The company needed to borrow money. All three partners agreed that any money going out of the business had to have all three of their signatures on it.

Basically, Gerard wasn’t allowed to be the only one dealing with the finances anymore. This only lasted a few weeks with Gerard Baden-Clay confronting his partners. He did not want to keep having getting their signatures. He stated that he didn’t feel like they trusted him.

Investigation

Superintendent Mark Ainsworth was leading the investigation into Allison’s murder. Investigators found a boatload of evidence of Gerard’s affair with Toni not to mention the financial difficulties Gerard had gotten himself into. What they discovered is that on April 19th, Gerard had a conversation with Toni around 5 pm. During this conversation, he told Toni that she and Allison would be at the same real estate training the next day.

Toni questioned their relationship. Gerard assured her that he was planning on leaving Allison and that he loved Toni. He said he was going to marry her. Toni asked for more specifics of his plan on leaving his marriage. A 60 Minutes journalist asked Toni if she felt that her pressuring Gerard lead to him murdering his wife. Toni didn’t feel she had pressured him. She had as she had been patient with him for years and wasn’t planning on ending what they had.

The Last Night

Gerard’s version of what happened that last night was that he and Allison had been up watching television after the kids had gone to bed. Allison started asking him questions about his affair. This was suggested by their marriage counselor. After a while, Gerard got tired of the questioning. He went to bed leaving Allison in the living room around 10 pm.

He claimed that when he got up the next day Allison was gone. At 7:15 am he called the triple zero. He was calm when he placed the call. When the first officer arrived at the house and saw Gerard Baden-Clay in person he called his superior, Sergeant Andrew Jackson. The reason – the large visible scratches that looked fresh on Gerard’s face.

When Sergeant Jackson and his partner arrived they noticed an older man placing a vacuum cleaner in the back of a vehicle. This man would turn out to be Gerard’s father.

Gerard claimed that the scratches were a result of a shaving accident. The police didn’t buy this excuse. The wound more like fingernail scratches. One officer on the scene knew the marks didn’t look like a shaving accident.

Officers Are Suspicious

Police felt that someone had attempted to clean up the house before they had arrived on the scene. Sgt. Jackson decided that he was going to record his conversation with Gerard. He also did allow anyone to leave the premises and declared the house and grounds a crime scene.

He also called on every available officer to begin a search for Allison Meanwhile, Gerard was still being questioned. Even though he wasn’t being difficult per se, officers had trouble getting straight answers from him.

Gerard worked hard to make it seem that he was accident-prone to the police. Supposedly he cut up his cheek with a blunt razor. He cut his hands when he had been changing a light bulb and it shattered. Believe it or not, a caterpillar had attacked him leaving red marks over his left side of his chest.

The police also discovered that right before Gerard contacted them to report Allison missing he had done a computer search on the “right to remain silent.”

Friends Know

When Allison’s friends found out that Allison was missing they immediately knew something horrible had happened. They felt that Gerard had something to do with their friend’s disappearance. They didn’t believe that Allison had just taken off or even took her own life because she would have never left her daughters.

The same day that Gerard reported Allison missing he had talked to Toni. She had called him from her conference late that afternoon. Gerard told her that Allison was missing after not returning home from her walk. He also indicated that they shouldn’t talk for a while and couldn’t see each other. Toni felt at that time that Allison may have taken off. Gerard had claimed that they had not argued. Toni just didn’t believe Gerard had any involvement in her disappearance.

Toni would say in the interview that she didn’t hate Allison and didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. In the days after Allison’s disappearance, Gerard kept calling Toni. He used payphones in the hopes of not being discovered.

He informed her that the police knew about their affair and were looking to talk to her. What Gerard didn’t know was that Toni was in the middle of a police interview when he contacted her. Gerard wanted to know if she told the police that they were currently seeing each other. She informed Gerard that she told the police they were currently involved because that was the truth.

Gerard’s story didn’t match Toni’s. He told police that he had an affair, but currently, he and Toni were not in a relationship. He also intimated that his marriage with Allison marriage was good.

Playing the Part

In the ten days that Allison had been missing Gerard continued to play the role of the grieving husband. However, he didn’t do anything to help in searching for his missing wife. He did give a TV interview with his sister at his side. He related that he had helped the police as much as he could.

Meanwhile, the forensic team had descended on the Baden-Clay residence and his real estate business. They collected laptops, computers, hard drives, and other evidence they thought was pertinent to the investigation. They also confiscated computers from Gerard’s parent’s home. He and his girls had been staying there. 

One of the pieces of evidence collected was Gerard’s razor blade. There was no evidence of blood on the razor blade, However, blood was found in the Captiva. A contact smear with streaks that ran down to the floorboards. Blood and a strand of hair found in the back of the car. It was tested and matched Allison.

Investigators didn’t feel that Toni had anything to do with Allison’s disappearance and subsequent murder. Investigators felt that only one person was responsible for Allison’s murder and that was her husband, Gerard Baden-Clay. Police thought he had dumped her body under a bridge and hidden it from the roadway in the hopes that she would wash away with the rising water levels in the creek.

Hiring a Hitman

Throughout the investigation, police talked to a variety of individuals. They slowly put the pieces of the puzzle pieces together. One of those witnesses was…Melissa Roman. Melissa had been involved in a real estate deal with Gerard’s office. After the business deal, Gerard tried to get Melissa to come work for him. When she turned him down he had another offer for her….help him hire someone to kill his wife. When she asked why he would want to kill his wife, Gerard never answered her question and changed the subject.

Gerard Baden-Clay Gets Shaving Injury Treated

A doctor with the Kenmore Clinic Medical Center was a witness in the case. Gerard visited him on Saturday, April 20th at 8:30 am. Gerard booked the first appointment of the day. He wanted the doctor to examine the “shaving injury” he had gotten on Friday morning. The doctor was told by the practice receptionist that Gerard’s wife had gone missing. She instinctively made the appointment a longer one in case grief counseling was needed.

However, the person the doctor met was quite composed and only wanted to focus on the facial injury. He seemed to be in quite a hurry. Gerard told the doctor he had gotten the abrasions when he rushed to shave. The injury left three vertical marks down his right cheek and didn’t notice any bleeding at first. He told the doctor that the police indicated he should have his injuries documented and asked for a copy of the medical appointment.

The doctor wrote in a statement that he could not be certain as to the cause of Gerard’s facial injuries. He felt that it was unlikely they were caused by shaving. He did not notice any bleeding since it would have taken two or more shaving motions. After the appointment, the doctor noted in his observations that he felt Gerard’s injury was not caused by a razor but looked more like scratches. Given that his wife was missing he wanted to be careful in documenting their interaction.

All About the Money

As Allison’s body was being autopsied Gerard had been working on collecting Allison’s life insurance. Investigators would discover that Gerard was in dire financial straits and that he owed upwards of a million dollars. Coincidentally Allison’s policy was worth $800,000 to $950,000 dollars.

Allison’s parents were eventually granted control of her estate. This included her life insurance policies. It was ordered that her two policies be held in a trust.

The investigator’s theory was that Allison fought for her life leaving behind those deep gouge marks on his face. In the end, Gerard caused her death. Her friend described Allison as soft and gentle. On that night she fought like hell leaving evidence behind to make sure Gerard Baden-Clay didn’t get away with it.

The Leaves Have It

Everyone thought that there would be a quick arrest and conviction of Gerard Baden-Clay. Unfortunately, this was not the case as all the evidence the police had was circumstantial. They needed more if they were going to bring Gerard to justice.

One piece of evidence that would help solidify the case against Gerard were leaves found knotted in Allison’s hair. Six different types of leaves were found with only two being from the Kholo Creek area. All six could be found in the backyard of the Bayden-Clay residence. It showed where Allison was killed. After Gerard killed her he dragged her body across the back patio and into the back of the  Captiva.

Gerard Baden-Clay was arrested and charged with Allison’s murder and interfering with a corpse on June 13, 2012. Gerard claimed his innocence, pleading not guilty. He stated that he could not have murdered his wife because he would not have left his three young girls home alone that night. Investigators felt that Gerard most likely left his girls unattended when he disposed of their mother’s body.

Gerard was denied release (bail) on June 22nd and remained in jail until his trial. Gerard would file another application for bail in December 2012. This came after the toxicology reports showed that Allison had traces of an antidepressant drug in her blood. To the defense, it opened the door to the possibility that Allison had taken her own life.

Committal Hearing

On March 11, 2013, Gerard’s committal hearing (preliminary hearing) commenced. The purpose was to determine if there was enough evidence to proceed to a formal trial. More than 40 witnesses would testify.

The court heard the crown (or prosecution) theory that Gerard wanted to cash in on his wife’s life insurance policy to clear his debts. Ultimately he wanted to be with his mistress. The defense denied the prosecution theory and told the court that Allison was depressed. She was troubled by her marriage eroding that she may have taken her own life.

The court would also hear from neighbors who heard a woman screaming on the night Allison disappeared. They heard from his former business partners. They warned Gerard that he needed to leave his wife or his mistress. He needed to make a decision or they would no longer be partners.

A forensic accountant testified that Gerard owed around $300,000 to various family and friends. He only had about $70,000 in assets. Toni McHugh testified that Gerard contacted her and told her to lay low after his wife disappeared. She also indicated that he didn’t have the money for a divorce.

Outside of court, Gerard’s family stood by him and his defense attorney’s felt the hearing went in their favor.

Pre-Trial Hearing

Gerard’s pre-trial hearing took place on February 3, 2014.. This is to clear up any disputes the defense or prosecution had and also to work out any plea deals prior to the trial commencing.

At this hearing, Allison’s autopsy results were discussed, as well as, testimony from Baden-Clay’s marriage counselor. sThe hearing continued into early June 2014 with a discussion about potential jurors being polled prior to selection. They would be asked if they have ever given any funds relating to the disappearance of Allison or if they or their immediate family lived in a particular area and if they have ever talked about Gerard’s guilt or innocence.

That same month, seven men and five women (with three in reserve) are selected to serve on the jury.

Diaries

Allison’s diaries were brought into evidence when the trial started on June 10, 2014. Using the diaries, jurors heard Allison’s thoughts about her marriage and struggles and how she wanted to make her marriage work despite Gerard’s betrayal. The prosecutor’s theory was Gerard murdered Allison for financial gain. Gerard testified on his behalf. His side of the story was that he was a liar with everything he said in the past, but now at the trial, it was all the truth.

Gerard admitted at trial to his four-year affair with Toni. He also admitted to other affairs. None of them mattered as in his mind they meant nothing to him. The jury didn’t buy what Gerard was selling and on July 15th he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

New Defense Theory

In August 2015, Gerard’s defense attorney’s filed an appeal based on a new theory. Now they were saying that Gerard had unintentionally killed Allison during an argument. He panicked and tried to cover up the murder. In a surprising twist, Gerard won his appeal on December 8th of that year. Instead of being convicted of murder, his conviction was changed to manslaughter.

The Court of Appeals stated that even though Gerard had lied about how he got the scratches on his face and tried to cover up Allison’s death there was a “reasonable assumption he was innocent of intentional murder.” The court disregarded the crown’s motive that the murder was for financial gain. His marriage difficulties were not sufficient to support a murder conviction and the prosecution erred when they didn’t present evidence to rule out accidental death.

High Court Reinstates Original Conviction For Gerard Bayden-Clay

In July 2016 the High Court (made up of five judges) heard the appeal from the Queensland prosecutors who argued against the downgrading of Baden-Clay’s original conviction. The High Court grilled the defense as to the change in their case. Originally, Gerard Baden-Clay had nothing to do with Allison’s murder. The next thing you know she accidentally died from a blow to her head after falling during their argument.

In a unanimous decision in August, the High Court reinstated the original Gerard Bayden-Clay conviction. They ruled that the Appeals Court erred when they accepted the alternative theory as to Allison’s death that was not in evidence at the original trial and that the prosecution was not responsible to rule out an accidental death for the jury as Baden-Clay’s defense at that time was that Gerard had nothing to do with Allison’s death

Don’t forget that Gerard took the stand in his own defense denying he had anything to do with Allison’s murder

Allison’s Foundation

Today, through the support and dedication of Allison’s friends and family a foundation was started in her name. The Allison Baden-Clay Foundation looks to bring a spotlight to the different forms of domestic and family violence through education and support. In July of every year their annual campaign “Strive to Be Kind” takes place to not only raise awareness (effective bystander)  but to encourage acts of kindness daily.

July 30, 2021, is Strive to be Kind Day. Wear yellow, decorate your workspaces or classrooms, and spread simple acts of kindness.

Resources

• Brisbane
• 10 Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Brisbane
• Murder of Allison Baden-Clay
• Inside the investigation: Why Gerard Baden-Clay murdered his wife Allison | 60 Minutes Australia
• Friend of murdered woman laments: ‘She told me things, I should have done more’
• Baden-Clay remanded in custody on murder charge
• The trial of Gerard Baden-Clay
• The life and times of Baden-Clay, as supplied to police via affidavits used in bail application
• Police confirm body as Allison Baden-Clay
• Graphic pictures shown to Baden-Clay jury
• Chilling crime scene photographs inside the Baden-Clay family home
• Baden-Clay murder probe continues
• Lord Baden-Powell
• The Baden-Clay Case – Rule of Law Institute of Australia
• Timeline: Allison Baden-Clay’s disappearance and resulting trial of husband Gerard Baden-Clay
• High court reinstates Baden-Clay’s murder conviction.
• Gerard Baden-Clay murder conviction reinstated by High Court
• Allison’s Story – The Allison Baden-Clay Foundation

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