The mother of a young woman who took her own life after allegedly being abused by her husband is calling for a change in the law after he received his $65,000 retirement payment.
Perth-born Molly Wilkes, 22, died in the garage of her new home in Las Vegas in July 2022 after following her then-boyfriend to the United States two years earlier. The couple married shortly after.
But Molly’s mother Julie Adams believes her “beautiful” and “feisty” daughter died by domestic violence-related suicide after her husband allegedly subjected her to “severe emotional, sexual, physical and financial abuse”.
“Molly had attempted to leave her abuser six times since they married in January 2021,” Adams wrote in a submission to a Senate inquiry into the role financial institutions play in domestic abuse.
‘The last three times were in the last five months of his life.
‘The week before her death, Molly had packed her bags and was ready to leave… however, once she found out about his plans, his emotional torture and manipulation of her escalated.
‘Exhausted and completely isolated in a foreign country, she had no energy to leave.’
Ms Adams’ submission to the inquiry was delayed due to “unparliamentary language”.
Perth-born Molly Wilkes (pictured) died in the garage of her new home in Las Vegas two years ago.
Molly’s mother, Julie Adams (pictured with her daughter), believes her “beautiful” and “feisty” daughter died by suicide related to domestic violence.
Ms Adams said the delay was due to the inclusion of examples of the hundreds of abusive text messages her daughter received from her husband.
Among them, he allegedly called her a “damn retard,” “damn bitch,” “whore,” and “unfaithful and disloyal c***.”
“In the final weeks of her life, Molly endured death threats – ‘I’m going to murder you and spend the rest of my happy life in jail’ – and encouragement to commit suicide – ‘Dig a hole and bury yourself in it, you pathetic bastard,'” Adams revealed.
Other messages allegedly contained mockery about a new relationship he was having with another woman.
“Numerous financially abusive messages, including requests for her to borrow money from me, wanting to access her inheritance from her grandmother (my mother), confusing messages stating she had all her finances in order while at the same time applying for a payday loan, and words to the effect that she was a financial burden,” the filing continued.
Molly’s husband has never been charged with any crime.
At the time of his death, he had a retirement account with HESTA but no will.
At the time of her death, Molly had a retirement account with HESTA, but she died without a will. Her $65,000 went to her husband (the couple is pictured together)
Although Molly listed her mother as a beneficiary, current laws mean her husband has a legal right to the money.
He was paid the full amount ($65,000) last December.
HESTA told Ms. Adams that they would only be able to intervene if the eligible dependent was formally charged with murder.
This means that even if Molly’s husband had been accused of abuse, he would still receive the payment.
Ms Adams is now campaigning to change the law to make it much harder for a domestic abuser to pocket their partner’s pension after their death.
Their submission details several ways financial institutions can minimize the risk of financial abuse, such as introducing a new cause of death of “domestic violence-related suicide” for death certificates, updating terms and conditions to prohibit misuse of their products and services, and stricter witness requirements for binding retirement death benefit nominations.
Molly’s husband told the The Australian that his wife had begun to ‘have a meltdown’ while he was working outside the home and that the couple had been through ‘a rough couple of nights’.
“My wife and I had an incredible relationship, we built things that people wouldn’t do in their entire lives,” he told the newspaper.
‘My wife has died, it’s over. The retirement issue has been settled in court. She wanted nothing to do with Australia.
“If she were alive today she would tell you the same thing. That’s why she didn’t get on the plane and leave.”
Ms Adams has vowed to continue campaigning for change.
“My failure to protect my daughter, to keep her safe, will be something I will have to live with forever,” she told the newspaper.
The inquiry will hold its next public hearing in Perth on Wednesday (10 July).
If you or someone you know needs help, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or Suicide callback service at 1300 659 467.
