This week the daughter of Allison Sealy tells her story for the first time.
Standard journalists Monique Patterson and Jessica Howard delve further into Allison’s life before her untimely death.
Voiced by Monique Patterson and Jessica Howard
Produced by Sophia Baker
Standard journalists Monique Patterson and Jessica Howard delve further into Allison’s life before her untimely death.
Voiced by Monique Patterson and Jessica Howard
Produced by Sophia Baker
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Decades ago, Triona Glare's mother, Alison Seeley, was murdered in her Warrnambool home
00:08in southwest Victoria.
00:14Alison was found dead in bed on August 1, 2003, after a concerned friend went to check
00:20on her.
00:21Alison is survived by her daughter, Triona, who was adopted by another family as a child,
00:27but spent time with her mother each summer in Port Ferry.
00:35Triona is now aged in her mid-thirties, the same age as when her mother's life was tragically
00:41taken from her.
00:42To this day, Alison's killer has never been found.
00:46Our investigation, Answers for Alison, is delving into the cold case in the hope of
00:51finding justice for her family.
00:54This week, Triona spoke to The Standard about her mother's death.
00:58It's the first time she has spoken to media about the tragedy.
01:07Most people have a phone call that they receive that they will never forget, a phone call
01:12that will change their life forever.
01:15Sadly for Triona Glare, that was a phone call she received that told her about her mother's
01:20death.
01:22When Alison Celia was bludgeoned to death in her Warrnambool home on July 31, 2003,
01:28she left behind a 16-year-old daughter.
01:32This week, she spoke to The Standard about her mother's death.
01:40My adopted mum got a phone call from my poppy, Alison's father.
01:45She then had to tell me.
01:47I still to this day remember exactly where I was when I got the news, and the horror
01:52of it.
01:53Triona told us that she was incredibly lucky because she had an incredibly supportive adoptive
01:59family.
02:01My adoptive parents are the most amazing people, and made sure we all visited with our birth
02:06family.
02:07We used to holiday in Port Ferry every year to visit my birth family, and Alison used
02:11to come to Ballarat regularly to see me throughout the years, particularly when I was younger.
02:17Being 16 when she died, I felt a lot of guilt for not making more of an effort to get to
02:21know her.
02:22Anger that she was taken from my life, and overwhelming sadness.
02:28Her death felt like my ties to my birth family had been cut, and I felt lost.
02:34In the years following Alison's death, Triona said she heard rumours, but over time, the
02:42subject was rarely spoken about.
02:45There has always been rumours and talk surrounding her death, whether that be from family, media,
02:51or the general public.
02:53Being removed from the direct family by adoption, and physically living far away from everyone,
02:59there wasn't a lot said to me about it, and it became too touchy of a subject to bring
03:03up with family.
03:05One good memory that Triona has after her mother's death was when she went to the unveiling
03:11of a plaque at Alison's former workplace, Nigretta in Hamilton.
03:17It's a plaque outside her old workplace, in a beautiful garden.
03:21It was great to meet the people who knew her and loved her that weren't family, people
03:26who spent time with her and would mourn her as we all do.
03:30It's amazing to think she made such an impact just by being herself, and that people will
03:35remember her.
03:38Triona told us that over the years she'd followed the updates that there were into
03:43her mother's case.
03:44There haven't been many more leads, but I'm always hoping for more information.
03:52She said though she would never give up hope that her mother's killer would be found.
03:58I don't think there is ever any justice when you take away someone's life, and forever
04:03alter everyone's lives around her, but of course I'm always hoping that he will be
04:08caught and serve time for what he did.
04:11I wish my poppy, Alison's dad, could have received the closure he needed for his daughter
04:15before he sadly passed away, but I know that there are other family and myself that always
04:21hope we will receive some form of closure.
04:24It hurts knowing that someone out there took her life and got away with it, that we may
04:28never get those answers.
04:30I think everyone who goes through trauma like this, the best they can hope for is answers
04:35as to what happened to their loved ones.
04:37It'll never bring her back, but the unanswered questions still haunt me.
04:41Triona has her own children, and she's devastated they will never meet her mother.
04:47There is so much sadness and guilt that I cannot give them any information about their
04:51heritage, about my own family.
04:54I would have loved her to meet them.
04:56She would have loved them like I do.
04:59Triona told us that she had regretted not spending more time with her mum when she was alive.
05:06It's one of my biggest regrets in my life, that I never got to know her.
05:11I've found the older I get, the more it's affected me, becoming a mother myself and
05:16not being able to know my own mother.
05:19Not knowing my history or life and all the things that you should know about your mother
05:24that no one can tell you, but you.
05:27Being adopted comes with its own set of challenges for many children, especially those that never
05:33got the chance to meet their parents.
05:36As lucky as I am to have met them, I wish I had more time, and that she had gotten the
05:41chance to know me.
05:48Thank you for listening.
05:49That was Answers for Allison.
05:52Make sure you're subscribed to The Vulnerable Standard to keep up to date with the investigation.
05:57The Standard is available online or through our newsletters and app.
06:01If you have information about the case, please email answersforallison at gmail.com.
06:07That's Allison with two L's.
06:10A-L-L-I-S-O-N.
06:14Thank you again for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.