Mum of three set on fire by 'evil' husband

Kelly Wilkinson begged police for help in the weeks before her murder

- GAIL SHORTLAND

After falling in love with a man she had met online, teenager Kelly Wilkinson travelled from her home on Australia's Gold Coast to the American Midwest to meet him.

Former US Marine Brian Earl Johnston was seven years older than Kelly. He convinced her to stay in Ohio and start a life with him. They married only a month later and had two children.

But in 2017 Kelly moved back to Arundel, Queensland, with her children and told her family her six-year marriage was over. She told Johnston not to follow her, but he did and persuaded her to give their relationship another chance. They had a third child together as they tried to make it work.

Following the death of her mother in 2021, Kelly, now 27, admitted she was desperately unhappy. Although Johnston had appeared romantic by following her to Australia for a reconciliation, he was controlling and abusive and simply didn't want to let her go.

Johnston moved out of the family home, and Kelly went to the police for help. She told them she had been emotionally, physically and sexually abused. In March 2021, her estranged husband was charged. A temporary protection order prevented him from approaching Kelly or speaking to her.

But Kelly was now terrified. She created codewords with her family to alert them if she was in trouble. She told them she would type "I'm considering moving back to Ohio" into a message, if she felt in danger.

One day, she went to a police station to report Johnston's abusive behaviour. When she was turned away, she drove to another station 15 minutes away. Officers wrote a report that said Kelly was "cop shopping" an accusation suggesting she was finding someone who would believe her because her allegations were unfounded. The truth was, she was "cop shopping" because she was desperate to find someone to listen. Kelly was in terrible danger.