A mystery unfolds in a Brisbane family’s quiet morning | Forensic Files

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Scouts law a scout is to be trusted a scout is loyal the Scout is friendly and considerate a
scout belongs to the worldwide family of scouts a scout has courage in all difficulties a scout makes good use of
time in his careful of possessions and property a scout has self-respect and respect for others
Scout's motto be prepared in April 1823 the first known European set their eyes on the Brisbane River they were for
ticket-of-leave convicts those who had been granted freedom to live and work outside of convict settlements they came
across the rich and fertile Brisbane River by mistake the four men had attempted to sail south from Sydney
before being caught in a severe storm and instead of sailing south they drifted north to Brisbane they spent 21
days at sea delirious and Confused believing Noah drifting south when in fact they traveled 1,000 kilometres
north along the east coast of Australia into Moreton Bay ending up at the mouth of the Brisbane River when they arrived
one of the four men was dead the river was spiritually significant and provided endless fish for the local indigenous
people of the turrible nation living along its banks they were the original owners and custodians of the area that
is presently known as Brisbane when Captain James Cook and three other navigators visited the area her aunt
Moreton Bay in a later part of the 1700s not one of them managed to locate the Brisbane River it was hidden behind the
islands inside Moreton Bay out of sight one of those navigators Matthew Flinders
actually spent 15 days looking for the river mouth and still didn't find it but the convicts did
at almost 350 kilometers along the river is extensively vegetated with hundreds of different species of native plants
and trees many parts of the river are so dense with scrub and trees that the banks are impenetrable on foot other
areas are more open with rainforest Queensland blue gums and waddles as the river snakes its way through Brisbane
all the way to Ipswich there are many dense areas along its banks that days or even weeks can pass and no one sets foot
there there are plenty of places you can go unnoticed people passing within a few
feet of you without knowing you were there [Music] Allisyn baden clay was born allison
Dickey in 1968 she grew up 40 kilometers east of Brisbane in the city of Ipswich
originally intended to be Queensland's capital city hips which is sandwiched between the coastal capital and the
rural and agricultural inland areas it was originally a hub of limestone and coal mining and spawned a strong working
class culture today it still has huge historical buildings with over six thousand Heritage listed sites Alison's
parents Jeff a firefighter and Priscilla a school librarian were born and bred in
the area the family were firmly cemented in a strong hard-working community Alison had an older sister and a younger
brother Alison was a keen and accomplished ballerina and at just 10 years of age she was dancing with the
Australian Youth Ballet Company she was the reserved and sensitive child who gathered all her strength and confidence
and put it into her stage performances around the country at age 12 she travelled to the UK to dance she was
determined but she had a shy and reserved side and often felt extremely anxious about being good enough to
succeed Alison got her determination from another and her softly spoken nature from her father the tight-knit
family did well at rallying around in a crisis and supporting each other this was obvious when at age 15
Alison was dropped from the Ballet School and the life she thought she was set for was it to be
she was stoic and strong on the outside but she was devastated she had a strong family to support her and she was close
to her school friends so she got through it Alison had been given a taste of travelling as a team so it was no
surprise she spent her early adult years travelling and working in Europe with a
year teaching English in Japan alison was independent she was laid-back and she was always happy by age 22 Alison
had an arts degree with a major in psychology she knew six languages to varying degrees and was accomplished in Japanese
after having lived there for a year she fell in love and got engaged to a young man she met on Heron Island in
Queensland they moved back to Ipswich together and bought a house in 1993 at age 25 Alison entered the Miss brisbane
pageant she missed the long light of her ballet years and thought it would be fun
to try out she came in first and then went on to Miss Queensland she didn't win but she enjoyed the experience while
it lasted as her stage dreams fizzled out again so did her engagement there were no hard feelings but adjusted in
feel right Alison began working at flights and a travel agency in Ipswich and moved
swiftly up the ranks while the mid-90s she was the Queensland human resource manager at their central office in
Brisbane the office was Beek taking up more than one floor and it was a social office workmates often went out for
lunch together and for drinks on a Friday night there was a young man who also worked there he
was the team manager for Fleiss and his 24-hour call center he was charming and polite and tuesd the confidence that
Alison was drawn to his name was Jared baden clay after attempting to set her up with a colleague jared realized it
was he who wanted to date Alison and it wasn't long before he swept her off her feet
Jared treated her like a princess and just like a younger days Alison felt on top of the world but Alison's family and
friends hadn't warned - Jared like she had they found him arrogant and cocky and it seemed like he thought it was a
little too good for them some of her close friends questioned if the relationship they didn't like Jared at
all even as a grown adult he seemed to ask his parents for their advice on everything he only really made decisions
based on their approval and opinions and still called the mummy and daddy even in
public there were just things that didn't sit right Alison argued that it was just motivated
and driven possibly that came off as arrogant and uninterested but she assured them he was the real deal
she was smitten and they were happy for her Jarrid baden clay was born in england in
1970 he lived his early years in Zimbabwe then moved to Australia with his brother sister and parents when he
was 10 years old his great-grandfather Lord baden-powell founded the scouts it was a badge of honour for the hundreds
of family members who fought off every branch of the baden-powell family tree Jared and his family grew up
proud of their scouting heritage and talked about their legacy at every chance the world Scout Bureau estimates
that there are 28 million members of the Scouting Association worldwide having a
great-grandfather at the forefront of the organization led to great expectations for members of the family
while living in Zimbabwe they used the surname clay but when the family arrived in Australia they added
Baden likely as a nod to their famous ancestor and so became the Baden clays [Music]
Jared grew up in a world where scouts honour wasn't just something you pledged the
gatherings in camps that was a way of life he and his family lived by the motto be prepared there was no surprise
to the Baden clays that their son had met and fallen in love with Alison such a bright and successful woman
Jared's father Nigel advised him on how to propose and when and where to do it they were a family who carefully mapped
everything out and followed through with each and every plan where Alison was more free and easy Jared was a planner
he was more content if he knew what was ahead of him the Baden clays were close so close that
jared married Allison on his parents wedding anniversary in 1997 after they were married they worked overseas where
jared attempted to push his career into high management jobs but it never worked
there what he lacked in success he made up for tenfold in ambition he hit constant stumbling blocks on his road to
business prowess and in the end it became obvious that he wasn't going to make it in Europe like Esau when he and
Allison decided to return to Australia he went back to work at Flight Center he was placed in a team focusing on
jump-starting the company's online business it was the new millennium and businesses even larger ones like Flight
Center we're only really testing the waters in the world of online sales when the department failed jared was laid off
and he sued them for breach of contract his lawsuit didn't go anywhere in mid 2001 Alison and Jared had their
first child throughout this pregnancy and to the next to that soon followed Alison fen and she was suffering from
depression she'd always been anxious even when she was young and she had really dark times in her late teenage
years after being dumped from the ballet but this was different she recognized something was really
wrong the doctor she saw was quick to notice that a few years earlier when the couple had been traveling Alison had
taken anti-malarial medication that have been found later to cause hallucinations
nightmares anxiety depression and even psychosis these effects were thought to linger in the body and there was a
chance that this medication had been a trigger for her depression with the help of her doctor she managed to get her
depression well under control while Alison was content being the gentle mother having put her career on hold to
raise their three daughters Jared was determined to make money and in 2003 he became a registered real estate sales
agent he encouraged his father to join him and when he landed a partnership at a real estate agency in taringa in
western Brisbane he insisted that both of his parents be part of the team - it was a package deal less than a year
later jared started up his own agency a franchise of a different company right next thought to his current employers
Alison continued to stay home with the kids while Jared tried to make it as a real estate agent he saw himself as a
high flyer of the industry he was seen by others as being overly confident and almost cocky but some found him charming
local real-estate agent Peter newing said that jared had a lot of self-importance he promoted himself
wherever he went his plans were beat by 2006 the Baden case had moved into a rental property in
Brookfield on the western fringes of Brisbane Brookfield is a wealthy fairly rural area it's known for its large
homes with tennis courts and pools but it's not overly showy it's got money but the people are casual
about it for a young family with business minded parents it was a desirable place to live
although Jarrod and Alison couldn't afford to buy a home they found a cheap family rental what it meant for Jarrod
was that he was living amongst those who wished to emulate in the years between 2006 and 2012
Jarrod's desire to be somebody continued to grow he had three partners in his real estate business which had both
rental and sales divisions allison was doing well her anxiety and depression was well looked after but with three
young children and a husband who spent every waking moment bettering himself in his career the relationship started to
feel distant and stressed by 2008 Allison had confided in friends and family about her worries and concerns
for the marriage but by mid 2009 she started withdrawing from talking about it even with many of those closest to
her she got Jared to agree to some marriage counseling and a session led to Jared admitting he was considering
ending their marriage allison fell apart she knew they had drifted and raising a
family had changed everything she understood how different their lives were to the carefree days before they
had children and she knew he was under immense pressure at work but she couldn't bear the thought of him leaving
she felt Jared was about to hit him midlife crisis by 2011 Jared's agency had a team of people they
had outgrown the office and made plans to move a couple of suburbs closer to Brisbane in the January of 2011 just as
they were getting into the new office Brisbane was hit by a serious flood the Brisbane River broke its banks and
thousands of homes and businesses were ruined the real estate market took an enormous hit Jared's business was
seriously affected and the pressure on him grew Jared and his three partners were
reached responsible for different aspects of the business Jared had previously been on the ground running
the sales but now he managed the accounts and started to employ new members to make the sales instead around
the time they moved offices his partners became aware that the agency was struggling financially they had trusted
that the information Jared had given them regarding finances was correct but suddenly they discovered gaping holes in
the books that Jared couldn't explain after discovering the true nature of their financial position Jared's
partners requested he get rid of some stuff as they were paying people to do the work that jerk could be doing
himself Jared agreed so he let go of his sales agent Tony McHugh and went back to
selling himself by the end of 2011 one business partner had left and Jared wasn't getting along with the other two
they didn't trust him anymore so Jared made an offer to buy them out and in early 2012 they agreed he had
until June 30th the end of the financial year to pay them Alison came in part-time as general manager she knew
the business well and it was a cost-effective way to get the business going again
the ups and downs went on Jared went back and forth changing his mind countless times on whether he wanted to
end the marriage Alison was stressed and felt unstable she had her medication double to help
her get through the rough patch and although on the outside it seemed like she was doing okay she wasn't talking
much she was internalizing Allisyn and Jared's family home was a simple single-story blue weatherboard
place with a flat roof built up into the hill of the property compared to the many green homes in the area their place
was simple and humble the double garage sat lower than the rest of the house because of the slope and one of the
garages had cardboard boxes cast off to the side filled with clothes Allyson plan to give the charity but she hadn't
made it there yet six sets of windows been to the house each frame painted white with solid timber sun shades
angling out above each window it's the sort of house that young well-off families buy and renovate or knock down
in order to build large modern glass tin homes which open out to the bush and forests all around but the baden clays
didn't known they've been renting there for six years and although jared was a prominent real estate agent they weren't
in the position to own their own home at least not in Brookfield a long driveway hides the house from the
street just like most of the houses in the area there is lots of native trees around and no front fence the grass was
ready for a mo and the garden looked a little forgotten but there was a must I mean either Jared or Allison's life for
garden upkeep they were both barely keeping their heads above water Jared was stressed his
wife was upset at him all the time his colleagues weren't happy with him real estate was slow and the bills were
continuing to stack up on Thursday evening April 19th 2012 Alison left work and went to the hair salon Jared went
home separately Alison was attending a real estate conference in Brisbane the next day
Alison went home after her hair appointment and put the girls to bed just before 7 p.m.
giving them a kiss and a pack goodnight one of the girls later got up for a glass of water at which time Alison was
sitting on the couch watching TV and knew Jared was walking down the stairs in his pajamas and choose a little while
later Jared and Alison sat down to talk they did this every second at night for around 10 to 15 minutes there was a
suggestion made by their marriage counselor that week Alison could speak uninterrupted about how she was feeling
it was her time to ask Jared questions anything she liked the conversation was an attempt for openness after their talk
Jared went to bed Alison stayed up to watch The Footy Show it was about 10:00 p.m.
the following morning on April 20th 2012 Jared woke up around 6:00 a.m. Alison wasn't in bed their three daughters then
aged ten eight and five weren't awake yet Jared got out of bed and walked through the house the safe Alison was
already up where she had fallen asleep on the sofa she had done that in the past but she wasn't there Jared assumed
Alison must have gone for her early morning walk something she usually did around 6:00 a.m. but that would be odd
considering she had the real estate conference that day and she had mentioned wanting to leave by 7:00
he thought she mustn't be far away so he went to the bathroom for a shave at 6:20
a.m. he sent Alison a text good morning hope you slept well where are you none of the girls are up
yet love G he went to one of his daughters when she called out from her bedroom she was
wondering where her mum was she was always there when the girls woke up in the morning or at least in time for
breakfast Jared had shaving foam all over his face when he said she'd gone out for a walk and would be back soon he
went back to shaving and then returned to his daughter a few minutes later and asked her to help put band-aids on some
shaving cuts on his face at 6:45 a.m. Allison still hadn't returned home Jared grew concerned he didn't want her to be
late for the conference so we tried calling her phone but she didn't answer he sent her another text message saying
the girls were ready and could she text him back or call he then called his father Nigel and sister Olivia they
lived close by and one of them could watch the girls while the other help didn't look for Alison within minutes
they were on the streets surrounding their home looking maybe she was hurt and had twisted her ankle walking or
something at 7:15 a.m. one hour and 15 minutes after he awoke to find Alison gone Jared called police emergency
Alison not returning from a walking tour to get the girls off to school was totally out of character go ahead tell
rusty five three nine six heroes thank you police emergency what's your location oh good morning Brookfield
we're back in blue filter five nine three Brookfield road and what's happening it and I don't want to be
alarmist I chose the 131 number but said on forever yeah but my wife isn't time oh nothing I don't know where she is
okay when did you I see you sir last night we were to this when I went to bed and I got up this morning and she
she wasn't there and that's not unusual she she often goes through a walk in the
morning yeah I've texted her and called her a number of times I think she has her
phone with her yeah and what time does she normally get back when together a lot morning sheep she was planning to
she had a seminar in the city so she was planning to leave by around 7:00 okay she's not back oh yeah okay all right
and what you want I'm now driving the streets most my father come over and to look after my children yeah okay so what
was it what's your name first of all so um Jared ger ard and your last name Jared
they didn't play badd and Kip - CEO Li and what's your wife's name - L M same surname okay and how old is elephant 14
four okay so you didn't see her before she put up smiling - okay all right and what's her mobile number zero four
zero one yep one four nine yep zero one three Sarah one tree okay all right and how told you watch I think something
like that okay okay and what kind of here she got it done that it's sort of a blondie frowning reddish circuit yep and
how long is it shoulder and shoulder [Applause] Heike although I'll then put a broadcast
on to the place to keep a lookout for your wife are you going to go back home because I got pleased to come and see
you yeah yeah alright Jared I'll get place to come and see you okay what's the best contact number to you
yeah 400 yep yeah okay just give us a call back if she hasn't returned before police get there okay
all right thanks Jared bye bye the two responding constables Leah Hammond and Kira Nash pulled up into the driveway of
the Baden clay home the house 30 after them as it was older and less ostentatious than many of the other
homes in the area as they pulled up Jared's sister Olivia was walking out of the house with the three girls to take
them to school behind her was Nigel Jared's father the constables asked Jared what was
happening they noticed the cuts on the right side of his cheek and to listened as he explained that Alison went for a
walk most mornings around 5:00 a.m. and she would usually follow one of two routes that were no more than two
kilometres long the main thing was that she would always return home in time for
the kids breakfast and that morning in particular she wouldn't have wanted to be late because she had the real estate
conference the constables asked to go inside to talk they didn't seem to worrying at first maybe Alison had just
walked a little further that morning but as the conversation continued things just didn't feel right something was off
one of the two constables excused themselves from the conversation and walked away to call their superior
officers to attend the house Senior Sergeant Narelle Curtis and Sergeant Andrew Jackson when they arrived at the
property they could both see why the constables were worried they immediately noticed the vertical scratches on
Jarrod's lower right cheek Jared brought up the cuts almost immediately saying he cut himself
shaving that morning he explained that he had to get the girls ready for school and Alison wasn't home so he was rushing
and that's how he cut himself but the officers didn't think they looked like shaving cuts they looked like they were
made by anything but a razor they were fresh and weeping a little one was around three centimeters long and two
the other about a centimeter or so away was around two centimeters long they were relatively wide measuring about a
quarter to half a centimeter in width and they were not completely straight things weren't feeling quite right so
sergeant Jackson turned on his tape recorder I carried in relation to your wife's movements today what time do you
think she got up where did did you sleep together last night I was saying before
I donation though I'm a heavy sleeper I'm a store and that's I went to bed before she did last night which one did
you go to bed where was she when you last saw her watching the footage shot so she was sitting in the lounge and
it's not what Tom had I'd have been so about 2200 hours off it's not no I change I'm sorry it's not unusual maybe
once every fortnight or so none of us does sleep on the couch because we fall asleep watching TV
no something like that where the she slept there she does go walking in the morning
mm-hmm he'll finish you get walked let's go say regularly but it's intuitively yeah and if possible she'll get up at
about 5:00 that was easier in the summer no shoes would it be roughly once a week
twice a week three times a week two to three times as ice explaining before and you know we're both trying to lose
weight and she was and we have a holiday that we go on Labor Day and and she was
I mean I came to lose weight we've just looked over for other families you know most so and last night she wouldn't have
her hair done okay so she had her hair done last night yeah well what is she know anyway when she goes jogging
walking um one of two outfits usually she has a black one and the gray one ones missing
cry outfit so what does it sound like right it's like her like a track suit right yeah lightning right sort of is it
a singlet opera shirt she has a singlet top she sometimes with sloppy joe of something intense they like there's like
three quarter length things that Dara dagi old yeah once we bought some new Lorna Jane ones in black yeah but
they've here I generally read Sanchez which is where she does just run us a see interest one else or not I have she
are the Leeson that the four usually leaves in front or or just okay so as far as we can ascertain she's dressed in
grey jogging clothes and she has runners on now is there any way that she would be likely to go around here to visit
anyone or she would she wouldn't visit somebody whooshing till the best of my knowledge
never happens would she have taken her work clothes at all would you not I mean is she gonna could we ring the office
manager to make sure she's not actually in that seminar yeah it is and so she's taking our money with her look I'm not
trying to alarm you but at this stage we're probably gonna have to call that our Criminal Investigation bridge just
to cover all bases and they may want to speak to you just about your wife's movements and they saw that ain't fun I
think at this point we probably just need to ramp it up just to try and locate your wife is quickly thoughts I
want to grab that we need to we need to do this I'm just going to make a phone call now I'm just a bit confused you
said well I know just that other police will be coming yeah just I'm just gonna get them to put out and have a chat gee
Jared because this is just this is just not what we normally have with missing persons it's not our thing it's not we
go and we just need to make sure that we've got anything right I'm going to drop in that day you walked on water in
five minutes time yeah and we just we stand it rundown but in the meantime we've got dot the i's
cross and thirties and get the cars here like I said before uh uh I'm happy to answer all the questions and the world
and that sort of thing that's going to help but I I want to jump back in my car and you know drive the streets or
something oh yeah well feeling like what do we have going the police felt something else was off Jared was shaved
showered and fully dressed in a suit with shirt and tie even cufflinks for a husband whose wife
was missing he didn't seem too worried in fact he was quite relaxed the bed's had been made and the house seemed to
have been cleaned right before they walked in they could smell it the house was filled with the unsurprising clutter
of family life drawers and dressers had piles have opened mail and paperwork piled up toys and school stuff was
scattered around in Jared and Alison's room was pretty full of clutter as well it didn't appear to be the type of
family home that was cleaned every morning before work in school it was a red flag Jared was in such a hurry to
get his kids ready for school while Alison was missing that he called his family to help he was out looking for
her yet he somehow found the time to clean up and make the beds while at the house police saw Jared's father Nigel
carrying the family's vacuum cleaner out and attempt to place it in his own car Jared then took the office as a sod he
had something he wanted to tell them he didn't want them to think he was hiding something he took a deep breath and told
the officers that he had previously had an affair but it was over long ago he didn't feel it had anything to do with
what was going on but he thought they should know he said he and Alison hadn't been arguing he couldn't understand why
she would leave and not return as she was really looking forward to the conference she had even been to the hair
salon the night before sergeant Jackson called in detectives and started to organize a search he didn't like what he
was hearing he had a feeling that Alison wasn't going to walk back up the driveway
based purely on intuition he declared the house a crime scene the cars were taken for forensic testing including the
car owned by Jared's visiting father rather than doing everything he could to figure out where his wife was
Jared became a little difficult and to be closed sergeant Jackson had called in every available officer within an hour
there were around 80 officers and SES workers on foot as well as on police horses
inspector Mark Lang was in charge of the search effort it was unusual for a large-scale search to begin within the
hours of someone being reported missing but police were adamant from the very early stages that Allison was in grave
danger so getting people on the ground quickly was the number-one focus fire fighters friends family and local
residents also joined the search it seemed to the whole of Brookfield were there to help even people from Ipswich
and surrounding areas attended the search would become one of the biggest and most detailed in Queensland's
history the clubhouse at Brookfield Oval just 200 meters away from the family home became the command post for the
search when the girls finished school that day they were unable to go back home Jared took them to his parents house and
they bunker down in an attempt to give the young girl some normality Allison's family arrived as soon as they heard
Jared told them not to worry about the shaving cuts he had gotten that morning he even had one of his daughters help
him put band-aids on it it looked suspicious but really there was nothing Jared was then faced with having to tell
them all about his analysis marriage problems he told them about the marriage counselor and if that Allison had
increased her medication and then he told them about his affair he said it was a long time ago and it was
definitely over he had just been stressed and had a lapse of judgment he assured them that it had nothing to do
with why Allison had disappeared they hadn't been arguing he didn't know why she had gone
Allison's family and friends were worried they knew she had suffered bouts of depression and they knew there had
been some troubled moments in the marriage but to hear this now their worries grew everyone was torn all those
who knew Allison never believed for a moment she would leave her children it just wasn't in her nature but they also
knew that those are changed she wasn't herself she may have had more trouble coping than they ever realized
journalist David Murray spoke to us about first hearing about the case and how the media reacted the first hint of
any trouble at Allison and Jared's house was the gathering of police there I was
working that day as a journalist at the Sunday Mail newspaper in Brisbane and I got a call saying do you know why there
were so many police at Brookfield there were police cars and officers in uniform
and plainclothes detectives walking around everywhere Brookfield's a really peaceful community and this was unusual
at first I thought maybe it's a drug raid but then I got a call back from the same person saying there's a forensics
van there now it looked serious it raised the prospect of something more sinister going on it didn't take me long
to find out that this was the home of Allison and jarred bait and clay now Jared was a prominent local real estate
agent at first glance they looked to be a completely ordinary family that day police put out a media statement saying
that they were looking for a missing mum but to me it looked like it was far more
than a simple missing-persons case police were treating it so seriously it looked from day one to be a
full-scale investigation meanwhile by mid-morning the Criminal Investigation Branch had arrived at the house led by
Detective Senior Constable Cameron McLeod the first port of call was to thoroughly go over the home for any
signs of foul play and to see if they could find any clues as to where Allison may have gone
during the neighborhood canvass they discovered that more than one person had heard either a short sharp yell or
scream one neighbor was startled enough to get out of bed and check outside another had to quieten that dog who was
barking out into the night air although the noises were unusual none of the neighbors were worried enough to
call the police not through lack of care or worry but seeing as there were no follow-up screams and a car was heard
the screech off down the street afterwards it was assumed the noises had come from joy Reuters focusing on the
children became Jarrod's number-one priority he and his family kept themselves at his parents house and
shielded the children away from the media the people started talking from the very beginning there were whispers
about Jared not bothering to help with the search people felt he wasn't concerned about his wife he wasn't
crying or begging for answers the community started to wonder if he was hiding something
by the afternoon superintendent mark Ainsworth had put a team of investigators together Allison's
phone was missing and they needed to try and establish its location Jared told them that when Allison had found out
about his affair the year before he agreed to have the app find my friends on their phones so she would always know
where he was the techniques got onto the app and tried to locate Allison's phone while
Jared was asked further questions Jared quote I should clarify I cut myself shaving this morning and
everybody has said that looks suspicious it does the officer replied Jared and that's part of the reason I think that
you're here it doesn't look like a shaving cut replied the officer the police had also noticed something
else Jared had a cut on the palm of his hand when questioned about it he said he was
at a mate's house helping him renovate the day before and he cut his hand while trying to change a light bulb detectives
told him they would have to photograph his injuries Jared walked outside the house and
dialed a number on his mobile phone it was Tony McHugh the woman he previously employed in sales at his real
estate agency the woman his business partners had asked him to let go of the woman he'd had the affair with
when Tony answered her phone she was still feeling upset from that conversation that night before Jared had
phoned her while Ellison was at the hair salon he told Tony that Allyson would be
attending the real estate conference tony was livid she couldn't understand why he hadn't told her sooner
she knew Alison would be upset seeing her that and the two of them in a room together was too much to bear
so Tony told him she'd had enough it was time for Jared to tell Alison the truth
he had to tell her he was leaving her for good and he was leaving her for Tony Tony wanted Jared to break the news to
Alison that night Jared had been lying his affair with Tony wasn't over far from it in the seven months since Alison
found out had only took Jared three months to go back to Tony and he had promised Tony there by the first of July
he would be a free man and he would be 100% committed to her that date was the day after he planned to buy his business
partners here everything in his life was working towards that day when Tony received the call from Jared
that morning and he told her that Alison was missing her heart sank she thought he must have finally broken
the news and Alison was unable to handle so she took off Jared told Tony that he
was being suspected by police and so that they should lay low in regards to their relationship police were still
trying to find Alison's phone they were using both their own triangulation and at the find of my friends up the
following morning Jared and his sister went down to the search command post at Brookfield Oval an officer pressed Jared
for some more clarity around a few issues including what Alison was wearing Jared who appeared to have gone down to
help aid in the search couldn't get out of there quick enough he said he had a doctor's appointment police had asked
him to have a doctor verify the razor cuts on his face and the cut from the light bulb on his hand
Jared had no problem in complying he said he had nothing to hide at a team meeting detectives discussed Jared's
cuts someone suggested they should have them photographed properly and that they
should also have a closer look to see if he had any more injuries the other detectives are great and Jared was
called into the police station he was cool and calm unfazed by the second request to photograph him he was well
aware that it was a suspect and although he often became unhelpful while answering questions he wasn't angry or
flustered at the station they asked him to remove his shirt forensic officer dr.
Leslie Griffiths examined him and found large marks on his upper torso there was
a mix of fine red scratches in areas of what looked like particular hemorrhaging
patches of pinhead sized bursts of blood vessels caused by extreme pressure or pulling or
rubbing of the skin there was another mark going from his underarm up towards his shoulder and a yellow bruised in the
center of his chest that appeared at least 18 hours old [Music] Jarrid tell police that he'd had an
allergic reaction to a caterpillar bite and he never thought to mention it police let him go home knowing they
needed expert advice if they were going to have any proof he was lying the following day two days after Alison
went missing acting inspector you and Taylor received a call he was the coordinator of the forensics team a
blood stain had been found in Alison's car there was a contact smear of blood with drips down to the floor of the
vehicle in the third row seating area it was visible to the naked eye there was a
single strand of blonde hair attached to it Jared was called back into the police
station the police had a medical examiner ready to inspect the marks they had found on his chest but Jared never
made it he had a minor car accident on the way to the station and he was taken to hospital with minor injuries the
accident occurred when he was driving past the injured police shopping center Jared drove up an embankment hitting a
concrete pylon after the accident Jared was lying on the ground outside his car and began crawling as if he couldn't
move his legs he wasn't going fast enough to be seriously injured but it was enough to warrant a trip to the
hospital and the car needed to be towed detectives knew that they couldn't really knees chest marks near there
would be too much doubt over what marks were new and what marks were previously existing Alison's parents Priscilla and
Jeff made a public appeal to help find her their grief was immense and they were hardly able to get their words out
the search continued and Alison's parents were permanently stationed at the search command post at Brookfield
Oval they never left just in case someone came forward who knew something some of Alison's friends and family told
police worrying things they had seen during Alison in Jared's marriage some had seen emotional abuse and others felt
that he was more than capable of physical violence the search area was increased to include
three more suburbs surrounding Brookfield police asked everyone in the new expanded areas for their help to
look for any sign of Allison on their properties some of which were vast with dense Bush land everything from
industrial garbage bins and disused mine shafts up to 30 meters deep were checked
police divers search teams within a two kilometre radius of the Baden clays home
Jared was still not allowed back home so he continued to hole up at his parents place he side of the family retreated
they knew what was being whispered the press camped outside waiting for him or anyone else to leave the house there
seemed to be a stark difference between Allison's family and friends who kept the constant vigil and we're out there
every day searching and a Jared and his family who stayed away behind closed curtains and avoided the search they
were often seen dodging the media by hiding and running between different cars or driving away from the house
separately no one could understand why a channel 9 reporter was outside trying to get an insight into what was going on
went to her surprise Jared and his sister Olivia walked outside and spoke to her jared struggled to get his words
hear he looked like he was choking back tears while his sister Olivia had a genuine look of worry on her face Jared
said quote I'm trying to look after my children at the moment we've got three little girls and
he paused then gained his composure before continuing we really trust that the police are doing everything they can
to find my wife we just hope that she'll come home soon and I need to go kneel to
an appointment this unintended statement was Jarrod's only public appeal as he walked off back
towards the house Olivia made an appeal for the public to come forward and help in any way they could
Olivia and Alison were close and Olivia was struggling with the idea that something may have happened to her as
the search continued into its eighth day a prayer vigil was held for Alison at the local church it wasn't just the
family and friends of Alison who was struggling to cope the community was also struggling to deal with her
disappearance people rallied for Alison's family and for her daughter's police set up a mannequin wearing
similar clothing to what Alison was described as wearing by Jared over 400 emergency service members and volunteers
continued searching the surrounding areas volunteers came from all over old school friends of Alison's fellow real
estate workers and old colleagues from Flight Center people were coming together to search for the woman who
they all said touched their lives in some way the usual draw a Brisbane area received
heavy rain on the eighth night of Alison's disappearance the first downpour in months it was
something on everyone's mind who feared Alison's body was out there behind the closed doors of the interpolate police
station detectives were putting together the small pieces of the puzzle - Alison
and Jarrod's lives they had a good idea that Jarrod wasn't being entirely truthful about his cuts and marks and
that he wasn't being completely open about his mistress Toni they knew he called Toni the morning Alison
disappeared they also knew that he called her a couple of days later as well this time from a payphone and he
sounded stressed during this second call Jared told Toni that the police knew about their relationship and that they
would be contacting her he also told her that police believed Allison may have met with foul play he
wanted to know if she had said anything about them still currently seeing each other what Jarrett didn't know was that
Tony was actually speaking to police at that very moment he had interrupted an interview Jared had told police that he
was no longer seeing Tony that the relationship had been over ever since Ellison found out about it seven months
earlier but Tony had told police the truth they had continued the affair and Jared had promised Tony a-- was her he
wanted to be with he loved her he had some stuff to saw do but from July 1st that would be official between them
July 1st was Allison's birthday by this time the media was starting to notice a big difference in the behavior of Jared
when approached he would often run inside his parents house or run for a car and speed away on one occasion he
hadn't jumped a fence to avoid being seen police and others in the community was starting to notice the divide
between Allison's family and the bag and clay family Allison's family were involved around the clock the town felt
Jared's absence Dave Murray spoke to us about the community's reaction at the time there were two sides to the case
there was this very public search for Allison and then there was the homicide investigation going on in the background
the search was enormous it was run out of the Brookfield show grounds and the public's interest just snowballed you
had a mom of three very young girls missing she was out there somewhere and everyone wanted to find her but you also
had this really strange situation where her husband was nowhere to be seen it was obvious there was a divide
between Allison's family and Jared and his family and of course people started speculating the media reported the facts
as they were known and tightly controlled the comments on the case jus largely to Australia's strict defamation
laws but on crime forums online it was a free-for-all it was the first case in Australia that really took off on these
forums literally tens of thousands of comment were made about it Brookfield had its
own very active grapevine and that was fueling it people started talking about an affair Jewett was said to have been
involved in with a staff member and financial difficulties and this cloud of suspicion just grew and grew in the
early morning of the 30th of April 2012 the eleventh day of Allison's disappearance Daryl Joyce a professor of
horticulture at the University of Queensland walked his kayak down to the Brisbane River
kolo Creek runs directly into the Brisbane River at Anstead in brisbin's West Daryl began paddling upstream on
the smaller required eccolo Creek he could see the cold low creek bridge up ahead with its tall concrete pylons
leading up 14 metres to the road bridge which was always busy at that time of morning the scrubland on the side of the
creek was dense and steep with most areas not accessible on foot the banks were thick with mud
he caught a glimpse of something on the edge of the creek bank directly underneath the bridge as he paddled
closer he noticed the clothing his kayak drifted past before he realized that the
clothing looked just like clothing he had seen on a mannequin set up on the roadside the clothing was covered with
leaves and debris Darrell was unable to turn around the current was too strong but as he looked back he had no doubt
what he had just seen he quickly paddled home and called the police when police got to Kolo bridge and saw the body down
on the creek bank the road was closed and the forensics team was brought in Allison was clothed still wearing her
running shoes with our laces tied and her walking gear her arms round comfortably tangled in the jumper she
was wearing and it was pulled up over her head her hair was matted and muddy with foliage in it just like her water
soaked clothes her engagement ring and wedding band was caked in mud and still on her left ring finger
dr. Nathan mill specialist forensic pathologist was called to the scene he arrived with two other pathologists they
viewed the body from the top of the 4-day meter bridge and watched as two officers were winch down with the help
of the Queensland Fire & Rescue Service norm conducted a preliminary exam under the cover of the marquee which had been
set up on the bridge Allison was not recognizable enough to be visually identified nilam determined her body
showed signs that were consistent with her being deceased for 11 days there were no visible signs of foul play
Allisyn was taken to the morgue for a full autopsy including skins to determine if there were any fractures or
injuries which could have contributed to her cause of death police stationed themselves at around about between the
Baden clays home and the Colo Creek Bridge in the hope that a passing motorist may have seen something
the Baden clays home was 14 kilometers away from the bridge Allison's mobile phone still hadn't been located the Find
My Friends app had narrowed its location down to a 150 meter radius of Allison in
Jared's house but several searchers had resulted in no find with the recovery of
Allison's body search teams were sending out again to try and find her phone nearby where Allison's body was found
was a 15 hectare property that belonged to the Scout Association of Australia police increased the area to be cordoned
off when Allison's family heard the news they were at the search command post at
Brookfield Oval it wasn't just Allison's family who broke down police and a community alike were unable to control
their grief Jared's parents emerged from their home and lowered the Australian flag in their front yard to half-mast
Jarrod said he was devastated by the loss of his wife and in a public statement released by his lawyer he said
that his primary concern was the care of his three daughters who were unable to come to terms with what had happened to
their mother the autopsy report stated that both the neck band and waist band of the jumper
Ellison was wearing were up around her neck it could have been moved or pushed to this position after death but it
could not be ruled out that it was used as a ligature no definite injuries could
be identified during the autopsy although that determination was greatly limited by the state of decomposition
the wording in the report was no injuries or other findings to account for death there were no injuries
consistent with being washed around in moving water there were no injuries to suggest sexual assault the only evidence
of any injury was an apparent bruising Alison's in her left chest wall this bruise which was not 100% confirmed
could not be linked to any disease or fracture and may have resulted from impact to the chest with a probable
degree of mild force some granular matter was found behind one eye which may suggest hemorrhaging from blunt
force trauma but again this wasn't able to be confirmed 100% due to the degree of decomposition the autopsy report
stated quote the degree of decomposition was significant and this limited interpretation of all facets of the
post-mortem examination it is most likely that the effects of decomposition destroyed or concealed evidence of the
cause of death the circumstances are certainly in favor of an unnatural cause of death the report went on to explain
that drowning also had to be considered because Allison was in such close proximity to the creek there was also
the question if she fell from the bridge but her body didn't show the fractures and injuries consistent with falling 14
meters also her body was found at directly underneath the bridge so she would have had to have been moved after
falling there was the chance however that she fell into the water which would have caused minimal injury then drowned
and washed up on the bank although it was noted as something which could not be ruled out Milind found no evidence of
this occurring Allison's cause of death was certified as undetermined police had gained information about
Jared and Tony's affair from Tony herself they had also been speaking to friends of the couple as well as Jared's
work colleagues who were able to shed light on what had been going on day to day when Jared hired Tony in 2008 to
join his new team he already knew her as he had sold the property Tony and her then-husband owned it only took a matter
of months for them to kick off a full-blown affair four years prior to Allison's death back then Tony wasn't
showing telling Jared that she'd had an attraction to him from the very beginning her marriage was struggling
too and it seemed all she needed was a final reason to end it that reason came one night when her and Jared were both
back late at the office before long Jared's colleagues and business partners knew full well he was hooking up with
Tony neither of them were very good at hiding it but they denied it nonetheless worked
in his conferences and to local celebrations were awkward events for Juraj colleagues who knew what was going
on often they were told Allison couldn't make it and then during the event Jared
and Tony would disappear together sometimes Jared and Tony would act like a happy couple flirting in front of
everyone occasionally to the horror of those who knew both allison and tony would end up at the same event and it
was obvious Tony would feel awkward and leave there was the end of 2009 almost a
year and a half into the affair when Jared's business partners got the truth out of the pair Jared was still lying to
their faces but it was Tony who finally admitted it she was worn down by the deceit Jared had been telling her for so
long he would leave Alison but he never did time after time another excuse would
come up Tony just wanted it out in the open two years into the affair during a discussion with Alison jared admitted he
didn't love her anymore but he still didn't leave her 2011 came around and the affair was still going on but Alison
was still completely oblivious to Jared's double life It was as though Jared couldn't bring
himself to lose Alison that was the year his business partners threatened him that it was not good for business it was
stressful for everyone and de tournay jared chose between Alison and Tony in September 2011 seven months before
she disappeared Alison found out about the affair it had been going on for three years at this point she had asked
Jared before if he was seeing someone else and he had denied it but this time when she asked again he admitted
everything he was tired of lying he told her he was seeing Tony from the office Alison's entire world fell down around
her as she lost all ability to comprehend what he was saying Jared told her he didn't love Tony
he loved Alison and the children and wanted to be with them Jared did what he had done countless times before he chose
Alison Jared's affair with Tony ended in an argument Tony had always been told by Jared that
he didn't love Allison that it was her he wanted to be with but every time he faced the reality of ending his marriage
he wasn't able to do it Jared fired Tony at the request of his business partners
and he stopped contacting her outside of work Jared decided he needed to focus on
turning his business around one business partner had already left and his goal was to buy the other two partners out
completely he just needed the money to do it but three months later he changed his mind and asked to see Tony again he
took his wedding ring off and said to her I love you and I'm going to be leaving my wife they continued the
affair and Jared planned to their future together he told Tony he would marry her one day
as far as Alison knew however the affair was over in Jared was committed to making their marriage work
on the 3rd of April 2012 two weeks before Alison's murder Jarrod wrote Tony an email quote I have given you a
commitment and I intend to stick to it I will be separated by July 1st 2012 then
a few days before Allison's disappearance jared wrote another email to Tony he told her he loved her three
times then finished with the words leave it to me neo struggling to pay his debts and to
needing money urgently to buy his remaining two business partners out Jared was hitting up everyone for cash
three of his best friends came up with some money in excess of two hundred and seventy thousand dollars that helped him
clear some credit card debt but things were snowballing police looked into Jared's finances and realized the full
extent of his debt he owed around 1 million dollars they started wondering if Jared had held out for so many years
on ending his marriage because he knew a divorce would make his financial situation even worse he simply couldn't
afford one just before Alison disappeared Jared decreased her life insurance to save
money on the premiums but the grace period on those changes hadn't ended yet so her insurance was still sitting at
around 1 million dollars when she disappeared the day after Allison's body was found
Jared found the insurer to lodge a claim when analysts examined at the home computer they found that minutes before
Jared made the emergency call to report Alison missing he got on his computer and googled right to silence
they believed Jared was familiarizing himself with his legal rights at 6:30 in the morning when he thought his wife was
just out for her morning walk but Jared claimed he had done that search previously while watching the TV
show The Good Wife and for some reason the search had reloaded on the morning Alison went missing Jared had told
police in his interview that Alison had brought up the affair shortly after that
good the kids to bed they had a chat about it it wasn't heated but Alison was definitely upset then he said he had
enough and went to bed that was the last time he saw her on May 11th 2012 Alison's funeral took
place in Ipswich nearly 600 people showed up with many spilling out onto the front lawn of the Anglican Church
has a large black-and-white photo of Ellison stared back in the pack to church her brother and sister gave the
eulogies at the end of her sister's eulogy she said quote Allison there are many questions unanswered many pieces of
the puzzle unsolved we're your family pledged to you we will have them answered Jared held the hands of his three
daughters as they placed posies on the coffin meanwhile media continued that can't be outside Jared's parents house
24 hours a day dr. Gordon Gama the director of Queensland's herbarium worked closely with the investigation to
help determine the last movements of Allison before her death he studied the leaf material which was found in
Allison's hair and around her head and shoulders the aim was to determine her faunal movements and possibly even her
movements after she was killed dr. Ghana ascertained there were six species of leaves present in Allison's
here it would be assumed that those six species of leaves would be present along
the creek and on the creek bed he went down to where Allison's body was found and conducted further tests of the six
species of leaves he could only find evidence of two of those species either in the foliage along the creek itself or
in the scrub leading up to the road this meant that the leaves had come from elsewhere he then took his investigation
to the family home after an examination of the yard he was able to match all six
species of leaves to those present in the Baden clays garden specifically the area around the back patio this meant
there was a high chance that Allison had been in the foliage of her own garden prior to arriving at the creek bed in
order to prove there was no doubt dr. guma walked the 14 kilometers from the baden
clays house to the Kolo creek bed he walk along the winding roads and thick bush and scrubland to see if there was
any other location to match the leaves there wasn't there was no way the leaves got in Allison's hair while walking to
the creek the only location where all six leaf species were present was at home in her garden this pointed directly
to an altercation at the house on the morning of June 13th 2012 jared was taken into inter pili police station his
three daughters were taken to a different police station and into police care until Allison's parents arrived to
collect them after pursuing 1500 different lines of inquiry and gathering 500 witness statements Jaret bade and
clay was arrested for the murder of Alison Baden clay Jarrod maintained his innocence he was handcuffed and escorted
to a waiting police car to be taken to the Brisbane watch house dave murray journalist the north her of the book the
murder of Alison Baden clay describes how the media were reacting at the time everyone had an opinion about Jarrod and
whether he was guilty or innocent police were saying very little about their investigation and a lot of the facts
wouldn't come out publicly until after he was charged but he was doing his best to look guilty he was virtually on the
run from the media and there was a good reason why what we didn't know at the time was that he had these scratches on
the side of his face it was what made police so suspicious of him in the first instance that they'd never talked about
the scratches publicly and Jared had managed to avoid any detailed inspection from the cameras he'd immediately
started growing this beard which was odd for someone who was usually looking and
so clean-cut and professional we didn't know at the time but it was to cover the
scratches then his business imploded and he had to move into a smaller office and
his financial problems could no longer be hidden the rumors about his affair were confirmed by some of his closest
associates and you had these things that would give him motive to kill his wife but that didn't prove he was a murderer
and it was unclear whether he was going to be charged for journalist it was by far the biggest case we'd ever covered
probably ever will cover people were talking about very little else the following day
Jared appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court his lawyers lodged the bail application in the Supreme Court during
the bail application hearing the prosecutor Danny Boyle argued that Jarrod had a financial motive for
killing his wife he also cited entries in Alison's journal that suggests that he may have been having an affair with a
co-worker Justice David badies said that Jarrod posed the significant flight risk
and a bail was refused a Supreme Court judge granted Alison's father temporary control of her estate including her
life-insurance policy in December 2012 six months after his arrest Jarrod's defense lawyer lodged the second bail
application in the Supreme Court he argued that the Crown's case had been weakened by the results of a post-mortem
examination which showed that Alison had traces of an antidepressant drug in her
blood leaving open the possibility that she took her own life the bail application was again rejected
on March 11th 2013 the committal hearing began more than 40 witnesses testified and 330 witness statements were
presented the arguments against Jarrod were clear he stood to gain a $1,000,000 life insurance payout which would clear
him of debt and he was having a long-running affair in response to criticism that Jarrod wasn't involved in
the search for Alison his defense team stated that the police told him to stay away from the search in case he stumbled
upon a crime scene this was denied by police and it was made clear by them that Jarrod's decision to stay away from
the search was when he made for himself forensic officer dr. Leslie Griffiths testified that the injuries to Jarrod's
face seen and photographed on the day of Alison's disappearance were the result of being scratched by Allison's
fingernails it was implausible to say the deep scratches on his face were from shaving
- GPS were called to testify this is because the morning Jarrod went to heavy scratches checked out the first
appointment didn't go the way he wanted it to the doctor was not convinced of Jared's
story about the marks and scratches so he visited a second GP in the hope that that doctor would believe his scratches
were from shaving cuts the cut on his hand was from changing a light bulb and his chest marks were from a caterpillar
by numerous neighbors who had heard yells and screams on the night Alison disappeared or testified former cabinet
minister dr. Bruce Flagg who lived almost one kilometre down the road explained that he had two distressing
screams from his house he walked outside to see if he could see or hear anything
further but he didn't just like the other witnesses Dr Flegg didn't think it seemed alarming enough to call the
police he then went on to tell the court that in the months leading up to Alison's murder he had been approached
by Jared who requested the borough 400 thousand dollars the boys business partner Xia Dr Flegg refused this
request neil Robertson a police electronic evidence analyst told the court that Jared's iPhone was plugged in
to be charged after 1:00 a.m. the night Alison disappeared which contradicted Jared's statement that he had slept
solidly or nigh not realizing Alison wasn't in bed although it was believed that Alison's phone was in a 150 meter
radius of her house that was never located dr. Gordon Gama the director of Queensland's herbarium
who had made the discovery of the leaf species in Alison's here presented his evidence to the court his testimony was
followed by professor Maren zelitsky an entomologist he was asked whether the marks on Jared's chest could have been
caused by a caterpillar bite he said that some caterpillars do have poisonous hairs that could cause irritation and
pain but he found no evidence of such caterpillars existing in the Brookfield area Toni McHugh Jarrod's mistress also
took the stand she confirmed that Jared told her to lay low in the days after Allison's disappearance she also said
that Jared told her that he couldn't afford a divorce homicide detective sergeant Peter
Roddick told the court that they used the covert surveillance on Jared's phone during the investigation and they were
forced to issue tony with a warning during her interview quote she told us she had not had any contact with the
jared baden clay and we were aware that that was not true Jared's phone records showed the calls
he had made the Tony most of which were to check what she was saying to the police at the conclusion of the
committal hearing Jared was committed to stand trial his parents and his sister told the media that they believed in his
innocence and did they would continue to support him Jared's trial commenced on June 10th 2014 two years after his
arrest the trial was presided over by Justice John Byrne 77 witnesses gave evidence on the stand justice Byrne
warned the jury of seven men and five women not to discuss the case outside of the court and to refrain from both
mainstream media as well as social media he requested that they focused purely on
the evidence presented to them considering how highly publicized the investigation and the court proceedings
had been already Dave Murray describes the amount of attention the trial received the interest in Jared's trial
was like something we'd never seen from the beginning members of the public were
arriving very early before the courthouse opened to lineup so that they could get a seat so many people came
that a second court was open with a live video stream for the overflow then a third court was open the biggest in the
entire courthouse and you had these three courts full of people for the one trial plus a separate media room
court officials started handing out numbered tickets to get people in in an orderly way the size and tension seemed
to grow every day Allison's large family would turn up after she went missing they're taken to wearing yellow her
favorite color they've been told not to wear yellow for the trial because it could influence the
jury Jared's family were there every day too and they seem to be commonly wearing
purple no one really knew why but one interesting observation is that purple is directly opposite yellow on the color
wheel Australian law doesn't allow call proceedings to be televised so the only way to catch a glimpse of Jared was to
be in the court itself the case was so infamous people told me they traveled thousands of kilometres to be there as
the case reached its climax and with Jared actually testifying people started arriving at five and six o'clock in the
morning the building didn't even open until 8:30 and the proceedings didn't start until 10 a.m.
consultant Crown prosecutor Danny Boyle and Todd fuller QC presented a marriage full of emotional abuse infidelity and
greed the court was shown photographs of Alison's body lying in it's unnatural pose covered in mud and foliage on the
bank of the creek their key witness was Tony McHugh who told the court of the three years of hiding behind Allison's
back and to the promises Jarrod made to her she truly believed it Jared loved her when Alison first disappeared Tony
thought Jared must have told her he was leaving her for good and Alison simply ran away of her own accord because she
was so upset the prosecution claimed to the Jared killed Alison and dragged her out the backyard over the patio where
the leaves gathered in her hair he then took her towards the carport where he put her in the back of her own car and
drove to the Kolo Creek Bridge in the darkness he carried her body down a steep embankment in order to dump her on
the edge of the creek in the hope that her body would be washed away Jared sat in the dock quiet and almost
uninterested even when photos of his wife's decomposing body were displayed in front of him he looked on unfazed
[Music] Nathan Milne the forensic pathologist who examined Allison's body at the scene and the
following day at the morgue took the stand confirming that there was no substantial injuries that could
immediately confirm cause of death he mentioned the small bruise on the internal lining of her chest wall which
may have been caused by blunt force trauma there was Millan's opinion that Alison had been placed under the bridge
in the location she was found within hours of her death this was determined during her post-mortem examination as
there were features such as hypostasis which is the settling of blood with gravity the blood had settled on her
right side just the way she was found although it couldn't be 100% ruled out he found no evidence to suggest drowning
or falling from the bridge jared was represented by michael byrne QC not to be confused with the
prosecution deputy director michael byrne QC who had prosecuted brett kel and for daniel Malcolm's murder earlier
that year case 54 of case file he argued that the Razr did cause the cuts on Jared's face and that there was no
physical evidence to prove otherwise likewise with the caterpillar boy he also focused on Alison's depression
cross-examining friends and family as well as her psychologist he was trying to establish whether Allison's mental
health may have led her to walk off dazed or to take her own life the court heard that although it was true that
Allison had suffered postnatal depression throughout her pregnancies and her young daughters lives she had
been carefully keeping herself in check and her doctors felt she was in a good place with her treatment it also came
out that Allison was in a good mood morning before she disappeared she spoke to another mother at the school about
all the things she was looking forward to at the time the jury was presented with recordings from police interviews
with Jared and Allison's daughters on the day of Allison's disappearance their youngest daughter said mummy went off
for a walk I think and we think she twisted her ankle Jared had been unemotional throughout the trial up to
this point but when he saw his daughters on the screen he started to cry on the video Allison and Jared's middle
daughter sat talking to detectives she was crying so much that she was struggling to get her words here she
said that on the night her mom disappeared Allison put her to bed exactly the same
way she did every night singing her a song then Allison came back in later and checked on her again before she herself
went to bed when their detective asked her how she knew this their daughter replied because she said she would pages
of Allison's diary were ready up from the days prior to her disappearance as well as other entries going back to 2010
the words scrawled in a lined notebook showed her sadness at the breakdown of her marriage and her shame at her belief
that she wasn't good enough to hold on to it the journal mentioned a Jared laughing as he told Allison how
different she was to Toni Allison wrote quote had so many opportunities to tell me let me believe it was all my fault
and therefore I was at your mercy forced me to look at you think that's where you
wanted me do you regret the whole thing or just getting caught [Music] in a section titled fear Allison wrote I
don't want to be alone I'm afraid of being alone and lonely maybe because I think I can't handle it I am afraid of
failing failing in my marriage and what people will think in a section titled relationship rescue I would give
anything if my partner would love me and make love to me I wish my husband loved
me like he did before we were married he finally I had put some more work into our marriage and not just being a mother
and forgot about being a wife sometimes at night I feel lonely and cry it hurts me when my partner won't give me a
proper hug in 2010 Allison wrote a gratitude list today I am grateful for the loving text I just received from my
husband my wonderful parents and their tireless unconditional love my sister in law for all she has done for me in the
past her support while I was sick two days before Allison disappeared she indicated she knew Jared and Toni had
started their affair again she wrote were you prepared to live with the guilt if I hadn't found out afterwards why so
mean dirty find the whole thing dirty maybe on pruden still get sick in the stomach
on the opposite page of the notebook was a drawing of a floor plan of a house it
was Tony's apartment and it was drawn by Jared at Alison's request there was a circle around a room bedroom one the
crown believed this was drawn during the 15-minute discussion the couple had the
night Alison disappeared just the hours before her life ended the defense implied that this was an indication of
her state of mind she was so depressed she took her own life when Jared took the stand the air in the court was tense
it was the moment of truth for both sides Jared's barrister asked him whether he
contacted Alison's life insurance company on May 1st 2012 the day after her body was found
Jared became emotional and replied that's correct the day before we had found Alison's body and we knew it had
been confirmed it was her dad told me that I really had an obligation to the insurers to let them know that was why I
made the call when asked if he was under significant financial or relationship pressure he answered that's not correct
Alison and I were working together very well on both our relationship and the business financially the business was
turning around and we were moving forward things were getting better he denied that he was leaving Alison for
Tony stating my intention was to end any relationship with Tony McHugh and solidify and continue to rebuild the
relationship with Alison for our future together during cross-examination Jared denied he was ever in love with Tony he
agreed that he had deceived Alison for more than four years as well as the saved Tony and his own family but he
denied that in the months leading up to Alison's disappearance he renewed his affair and he also denied that he had
set up a fake email address to email Tony when the question was put to him then he couldn't live without Tony he
denied it saying I often said to her things in order to placate her what she wanted to hear I hoped it would calm her
I wanted to keep having sex with her and had no intention of leaving my wife his
defense barrister asked how long he had been married to Allison Jarrod replied we would have been coming up through our
14th wedding anniversary as Michael Byrne went on to his next question the most pointed question of the day and
the one question every single person in the courtroom wanted to hear answered it
was clear that Jarrod had got his dates wrong as Michael Byrne began asking mr. Baden clay did you kill Jared
interrupted cutting him off mid-sentence sorry it would have been coming up to our 15th
michael byrne then repeated the question jared answered no I did not on July 15th
2014 the jury reached their verdict Jared abate and clay was found guilty as Allison parents her older sister and
her younger brother prepared victim impact statements for the court Jarrod cried and shook in the dock
Allison sister Vanessa said in her statement quote I feel cheated that I never got to say goodbye I have been
robbed of a life together with my sister we will never get to have that one last
cup of coffee together or exchange parenting advice and share highlights of our children's lives
I miss her the way she smiled I look at her photo and wonder what could have been her life her dreams were cut short
and if the lives of many changed forever Allison never allowed depression to take
over her life she was never so debilitated that she could not function like any other mother with three
children in a household to run she was busy tired and stressed Allison's father Jeff said in his statement quote Allison
had been convinced that she was inadequate and not a good wife and mother she was constantly trying to
improve herself in her appearance to measure up to the expectations of her husband she tried hard to save her
marriage finally in the end she paid the ultimate price for her marriage and the
love of her three daughters Jeff also said later not part of his victim impact statement I gave you permission to marry
my daughter but I didn't give you permission to harm her Jarrod was sentenced to life in prison with a
minimum term of 15 years shortly after the verdict Jared and his lawyers appealed claiming he was a victim of a
miscarriage of justice after the verdict was handed down Allison's family and friends released yellow balloons outside
the Brisbane Supreme Court in honor of her favorite color in July 2015 a year after Jarrod's
conviction Allison's family and friends set up a charity allisyn's gift to help kids who experience trauma Alison sister
Vanessa spoke about how lucky the three girls were that they had strong family and community support but they
recognized that not all children would have such immense support or resources in a similar situation
Vanessa spoke to The Courier Mail newspaper quote we won Alison's legacy to continue we want her memory to live
on in the community by helping children who have been through trauma and financial hardship we can give back to
them because the community supported us so well when our three girls needed at the most on December 8th 2015 almost a
year and a half after his conviction jared was successful in his appeal he had his murder conviction downgraded to
manslaughter three judges in the Queensland Court of Appeal ruled that there was not enough evidence to show
that Jarrod intended to kill Alison his legal team successfully argued that the conviction should be overturned because
Jarrod might have accidentally killed Alison during a violent argument about Tony and then covered up what he had
done in a panic the judges agreed and Jared's resentencing was scheduled for 2016
the community was outraged the whole country was outraged a petition was started calling on the Queensland
Attorney General to uphold the original conviction and had more than 120,000 signatures in two weeks the petition
read we the people of Australia are outraged by the decision of the Queensland court to reduce jared baden
clays conviction for the murder of his wife Alison to the lesser charge of manslaughter we are requesting the
Queensland attorney-general files an appeal against this decision rallies were held and there was mass
public outcry Jared's conviction being reduced to manslaughter as a result the High Court of Australia agreed to hear a
rare appeal of the appeal court's decision the High Court of Australia is the highest court in the country there
was nowhere else to go if this was unsuccessful Alison's friends and family all wore yellow ribbons as they filled
the court house along with many of the detectives who worked tirelessly on the case the Queensland Court of Appeals
decision came under immense scrutiny Justice Patrick Kane said Jarrod didn't claim he accidentally killed his wife
Alison when he had the chance at trial and his evidence was actually inconsistent with any notion at all that
there was an unintended killing by him justice Bell said it was not easy necessarily to kill a person without
intending at the least to do grievous bodily harm the High Court reached their decision in
August 2016 they threw out the decision of the Queensland Court of Appeal and reinstated Jared's murder conviction he
was ordered to serve his original sentence of life with a minimum term of 15 years
Queensland's Law Society president bill Potts spoke publicly of the decision quote arguably one of the most
high-profile and emotive cases in Queensland's legal history what this simply means is the justice system works
the original decision was in line with the understanding of the law at that time and the higher court's decision
reflects the current interpretation of the law this is a decision not just for Queensland or further Badin clay family
it is a decision for all Australians the way in which circumstantial evidence may
be used and post defense behavior may be used has now been clarified by the High
Court that in turn can be utilized across a range of cases that are waiting in the wings this is an important
precedent he said it was now up to the Queensland parole board to decide if jared baden
clay should ever be released Alison's friend and spokeswoman for the family Carrie Anne Walker spoke with relief
quote the law has acknowledged what we who were closest to her knew from that very morning Alison went missing
that is the she was murdered jarred maiden claimer derd his amazing wife Alison today's decision brings an end to
Jared's attempts to smear Alison's named if some were in doubt as to his true nature his behavior after Alison
disappeared and during the trial must have removed that day out her legacy will be her beautiful three girls who
surrounded nearby their memories of Alison and the love and support of Alison's devoted family are thriving in
their busy lives all who know them are confident they will go on to achieve great things I am in or every day of how
well Alison's parents Geoff and Priscilla and her sister Vanessa deal with their day-to-day busy lives
the girls are certainly a tribute to them in early 2017 it was ruled that Jared would not see a cent of Alison's
life-insurance money that will be transferred into the trust fund set up for Alison in Jared's three daughters
special thanks to David's Marines journalists for The Courier Mail newspaper in Queensland and the author
of the murder of Alison Baden clay all marriages have their secrets it's a great book written by a local journalist
who worked on the case thank you David for your wisdom and support with this episode

Case 65: Allison Baden-Clay

Gerard woke up around 6 am.

Allison wasn’t in bed.

Their three daughters, then aged ten, eight and five weren’t awake yet. Gerard got out of bed and walked through the house to see if Allison was already up, or if she had fallen asleep on the sofa the night before. She had done that in the past. But she wasn’t there…

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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Brief Summary

Alison Baden-Clay's disappearance leads to her husband's murder conviction amid evidence of infidelity and financial struggles.

Key points

Alison Baden Clay: A Talented Ballerina. Alison was an accomplished ballerina who faced challenges in her early career.
The Struggles of Jared Baden Clay. Jared faced numerous challenges in his career and personal life, leading to tension in his marriage.
The Tension in Their Marriage. Alison and Jared's relationship became strained as they faced personal and financial pressures.
Police Arrive at the Scene. Police arrive at the Baden Clay home to investigate Alison's disappearance.
Jared's Confession. Jared reveals to police about his past affair, raising suspicions.
Jared's Public Appeal. Jared expresses concern for his children while hoping for Alison's return.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She was stoic and strong on the outside, but she was devastated.

Alison's reaction to being dropped from ballet school.

7:03WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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