A man who repeatedly stabbed his estranged wife, then set her on fire in her backyard on the Gold Coast almost three years ago, has been jailed for life.
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TVTranscript
00:00 Kelly Wilkinson was loved by many who still struggle to comprehend just how her life could have been so savagely stolen.
00:10 You have caused me and everyone around me a lifetime of immeasurable pain and suffering.
00:16 The 27-year-old's friends and family band together today to stare down the man responsible for her vicious murder in 2021, her estranged husband, Brian Earl Johnston.
00:27 The Supreme Court was given a detailed timeline of the pair's 10-year relationship and what took place in the months leading up to Ms Wilkinson's death.
00:36 This included allegations that the 37-year-old had raped the mother of his children, charges he disputes, and that he was on bail at the time as well as subject to a domestic violence order.
00:48 It was also revealed for the first time that before setting her alight in the backyard of her Arundel home, he also repeatedly stabbed her.
00:57 All Kelly wanted was to love and be loved and all you gave her was pure evil.
01:03 Justice Peter Applegarth described Johnston's offending as horrendous and said despite his delusions, Ms Wilkinson was not one of his possessions.
01:13 She was not yours to control. You ignored her dignity and her autonomy. You violated her security.
01:21 Johnston was given the mandatory punishment of life in prison but no changes were made to his minimum parole eligibility.
01:29 I can't help but feel let down by the prospect of him being given a second chance and walk free after 20 years.
01:39 Our family's journey does not stop here today. It will never end. Which makes me question who really gets the life sentence?
01:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]