‘She’d be so proud of her girls’: Allison Baden-Clay’s sister shares update 14 years after she was ki*led
In an exclusive interview, Vanessa Fowler reveals how the family are doing.
Allison Baden-Clay’s sister has lived this moment too many times. Sitting with another family, trying to make sense of the loss of a daughter, sister or mother, Vanessa Fowler understands exactly what they are going through.
“Tara Brown, Kelly Wilkinson, Hannah Clarke – we’ve lost lots of women along the way,” Vanessa tells Woman’s Day.
“The families often reach out and my parents come along and we share our experience so they know what to expect and that they’re not alone.”
It can be painful, and “hearing about another woman’s life taken, it makes you wonder if we’re making a difference,” Vanessa says. But it’s also part of the positive legacy she and her parents, Geoff and Priscilla Dickie, have worked so hard over the last 14 years to build for her sister, Allison Baden-Clay.
In April 2012, Allison was brutally m*rder*d by her husband Gerard Baden-Clay. The body of the 43-year-old mum of three girls, Hannah, then 10, Sarah, eight, and Ella, five, was found under a bridge, 10 days after her husband reported her missing.
With forensic evidence plus evidence of her husband’s multiple affairs and the million-dollar life insurance benefit, he was quickly charged.
VOCAL ADVOCATE
It was a situation that would change the course of her family’s lives.
“We sat through the six-week trial and at the end he was convicted as a murderer, but the QPS [Queensland Police Service] came to us afterwards and said, what Allison went through, as reflected by the journal found by her bed, was domestic and family violence,” Vanessa says.
“We didn’t know. We thought, that doesn’t happen to families like ours. Allison was living in the leafy suburbs of Brisbane with the world at her feet.”
Vanessa gave up her teaching career to launch the Allison Baden-Clay Foundation, aimed at educating and bringing awareness of family violence to the community.
“It’s not just broken bones and black eyes,” Vanessa, who has been a vocal advocate for the coercive control legislation introduced in May 2025, says.
“It’s about intimidation, financial control, using the kids. I am fairly certain Allison didn’t realise she was enduring coercive control. If she had been handed some of the tangible resources we have now developed I think it would’ve made a difference.”
Over the years, the foundation has made huge strides, something Vanessa is immensely proud of.
“From our humble beginnings when DV was an ugly, dark conversation swept under the carpet to now, where there are forums and conferences with thousands attending to talk about domestic and family violence prevention. That’s what gets me up every day,” she says.
“Women come to me and say they are here today because they heard Allison’s story.”
It’s a legacy that means Allison’s daughters, who are now 24, 22 and 19, can remember their mum as the kind, generous and loving person she was.
“We’ve kept them out of the limelight growing up,” Vanessa says. “As they’ve got older they’ve become more involved in the foundation, especially Strive To Be Kind Day, which is our annual major fundraiser.”
CELEBRATING MUM
The event, held on the last Friday in July, started as a small high tea with a group of Allison’s school friends but now 400-plus guests attend.
“The girls are excited to be part of the celebration of who their mother was,” Vanessa says, adding that they help by selling merchandise and sunflowers, the foundation’s symbol of light, in the lead-up.
Brought up by her grandparents, Hannah has followed in her mother’s footsteps, going into the performing arts and Sarah and Ella are both at university.
“We see Allison’s character traits in them every day, physically, too, particularly when they were younger and on stage,” Vanessa says.
“Looking down, Allison would be very proud of what our parents have done raising her three daughters and the values they hold.”
The family’s next challenge is coming up mid next year when Allison’s killer will be eligible for parole, after 15 years in jail.
“It’s been a cloud over our heads for the last 14 years but we knew this day would come,” Vanessa says, adding that the family feel 15 years is grossly inadequate as a punishment and they’re hoping parole will not be granted.
Vanessa’s message has never been one of focusing on the darkness though, and with new education projects ahead she plans to stay as determined and strong as her sister once was.
“It’s always been important for me to ensure Allison’s legacy is a positive one. The goal remains to change and save lives through our resources.”
MORE TO THE CASE
Earlier this year, news journalist Alison Sandy recalled how she has never forgotten reporting on Allison’s m*rd*r at the time of her d*ath.
“On the day Allison was reported as missing, I remember being told there was much more to this case,” she told Woman’s Day.
At the time, Alison was the police and courts editor at The Courier Mail and recalls being suspicious of the ki*ler from the very start.
“Everyone knew that he did it,” she says.
“It was one of those stories that you cover and they end up being branded on your brain. You never forget them.”
Allison’s kil*er is currently serving a life sentence at Wolston Correctional Centre in Brisbane after being convicted in July 2014.
EXPERTS WARNING
But experts warn that he poses a serious threat of reoffending. According to forensic criminologist Dr Claire Ferguson, he is an example of a “k**ler narcissist”.
“They’re highly deceptive – they’re expert liars,” she explains in the 7News podcast Kiss & Kill, which re-examined the case earlier this year.
“They often have histories of lying for personal gain and being manipulative for their own ends in a lot of different spheres of their life or in lots of different contexts.”
According to reports, the k**ler has kept a relatively low-profile behind bars, but chillingly, still wears his wedding ring.
In October 2019, he was banned from working as a carer in prison as a punishment for touching an officer inappropriately on the buttocks.
As a result, he was moved to the prison’s protection unit until the following January.
Then, in March 2020, an anonymous corrections officer who works at Wolston Correctional Centre revealed that while he was a model prisoner, he sometimes “forgets his place”.
“He gets too big for his boots at times and forgets where and who he is… a m*rd*rer,” the officer claimed.
Inside wife ki*ler Gerard Baden-Clay’s psychological report
WONDERFUL WOMAN
In 2013, a year on from their daughter’s death, Allison’s parents along with other friends and family penned an open letter, published in The Courier Mail, remembering Allison as the “wonderful woman” and “model mum” she was.
What follows is a small part of what they wrote:
Allison has been constantly in our thoughts.
Not for the circumstances and uncertain nature of her passing, but for the wonderful person she was. For the joy she brought to us all.
And for the lesson of selfless sacrifice she gave through the actions of her everyday life. Regardless of her own struggles and hurdles, Allison never stopped thinking of others first and foremost.
Allison, who was humble by nature, was extravagant only in her giving.
And she gave to all who came into her life, friends and thieves alike. She epitomised what it meant to be a loving mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunty and friend.
After 12 months, Allison is missed more than ever, and she is most surely not forgotten.
We all have special personal memories of the wonderful woman she was.
She had done so much, yet had so much to live for and so much more to do.
This has been a very public journey for our family and we appreciate everyone’s love and support.
We, her family and friends, remain overwhelmed by the support from the broader community, and in particular from the Brookfield community who continue to offer love and support for her daughters. Allison too would be overwhelmed, and thankful for all your efforts.
We must live as Allison did with goals to help us strive for excellence, with love for one another; with respect, and to put the happiness of others above our own.
Life we have learnt is precious, and too short.
We often cry because her life has come to an end but we also smile because we were privileged to have her in our lives.
A high achiever, a model mum and unselfish soul, all of which were achieved under sometimes challenging circumstances, yet she rose above any adversity and endured many difficulties yet she still loved.
She has impacted each of our lives yet she had a far greater impact on the world because of her nature, character and kind soul.
She had done so much, yet had so much to live for and so much more to do.