Case File 08: Six Kinds of Leaves
The murder of Allison Baden-Clay, Queensland, 2012.
Case File 08: the real file
18+ content. This page is for readers of Outback Case Files. It describes a real murder case, factually and without gore. If you have come here from a puzzle, finish your accusation first: this page gives the game away.
Campfire Quests acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which these stories took place. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this page may contain the names, images and stories of people who have died.
The murder of Allison Baden-Clay, Queensland, 2012 (Gerard Baden-Clay)
In the book this case appears as “Six Kinds of Leaves”. The names of people and most places were changed to make the puzzle work. Below is what really happened.
Allison June Baden-Clay, 43, a mother of three from Brookfield in Brisbane's west, was reported missing by her husband on 20 April 2012. Her body was found ten days later under the Kholo Creek bridge at Anstead. The cause of death could not be determined.
Gerard Robert Baden-Clay was convicted of her murder on 15 July 2014 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a 15-year non-parole period. After the Court of Appeal substituted manslaughter in 2015, the High Court unanimously restored the murder conviction on 31 August 2016. Her parents and daughters established the Allison Baden-Clay Foundation to raise awareness of domestic violence.
How the real detectives cracked it
In the real case, Allison Baden-Clay was reported missing by her husband Gerard at 7:14 am on 20 April 2012 in Brookfield, Brisbane. Her body was found on 30 April under the Kholo Creek bridge at Anstead, about 13 km away. The prosecution case was circumstantial: three scratches on his cheek that four experts said were fingernail marks; his phone connecting to a charger at 1:48 am when he claimed to be asleep; her blood in the family Holden Captiva; his affair with Toni McHugh; debts over $500,000 against insurance of nearly a million; and leaves from six plant species on her body, all of which grew at the family home but only two of which grew at the creek.
A jury convicted Gerard Baden-Clay of murder on 15 July 2014. The Queensland Court of Appeal downgraded the verdict to manslaughter in December 2015; the High Court of Australia unanimously reinstated the murder conviction on 31 August 2016. He is serving life with a 15-year non-parole period.
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A word about respect
These were real people, and the victims had families, many of whom are still here. We have kept to the public record and left out the gore on purpose. If you share this page, please share it the way you would want your own family talked about.
Banner photo: Upper Brookfield, by Kerry Raymond (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.