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| Capital punishment was abolished in Queensland in 1922 but the noose is tightening around Allison Baden-Clay's killer with forensic results on her body due within days. |
The noose is slowly tightening around the killer of Brookfield mother-of-three Allison Baden-Clay.
Hopes of ever finding her alive faded quickly as the search for her body dragged on for over a week after her bizarre disappearance last month.
Even from day 1, with the rapid deployment of police and SES volunteers, the entire situation looked very grim for Allison's family.
Her disappearance was said to have occurred during a late night walk through the suburb, with even old gold mine shafts thoroughly checked to see if she had met some accident or possibly foul play.
Until the weekend rain of 28-29 April, her body could have remained concealed forever in Kholo Creek near Mt Crosby to be long forgotten by the general public while her family grieved for decades.
So it was a remarkable twist of fate with the unseasonal April showers which finally switched the police enquiries from a missing person investigation to a murder investigation.
Brookfield residents who were stunned by Mrs Baden-Clay's disappearance were shocked by the fact this well-respected, cheerful local mum had been brutally killed in the middle of the night in, or near, their quiet piece of Brisbane suburbia.
And the leafy, tranquil suburb of Brookfield was changed forever in the twinkling of an eye.
No one dared to speak too openly of their individual speculation as to the possible identity of the killer but the community's private thoughts and feelings became part of the grieving process not only for the family but the wider Brookfield community.
During the 10 days days preceding the discovery of Allison's body, the local tight-knit community had hoped and prayed for a miracle.
During that time, the community worked, searched and prayed together in the belief Allison might eventually come home - but that was not to be.
In Brisbane's western suburbs, the possibility of finding her alive kept the community spirit intact but it was all crushed with that terrible discovery by a canoeist at Kholo Creek near the Brisbane River, opposite Karalee.
During that time, the love for Allison by her family and the broader community was readily apparent.
In the police media conference which followed soon after her disappearance, Allison's parents Geoff and Priscilla Dickie made an emotional appeal for her return, with their grief almost overwhelming, but in the end their heartfelt appeal was to count for nothing.
The final conclusion to this shocking crime is still to be played out but the family and the community can only hope and pray the killer is quickly caught.
It is to be hoped the person responsible will have the decency to admit to the murder and not try to lay any of the blame on Allison or to weasel out of their criminal responsibility with clever lawyers and technical legal arguments and excuses.
It is to be hoped the person responsible will have the decency to admit to the murder and not try to lay any of the blame on Allison or to weasel out of their criminal responsibility with clever lawyers and technical legal arguments and excuses.
