Everyone needs a friend like Allison’s best friend

September 1, 2016

If anything happened to me—anything sinister that took me away from my children and seeing them grow up—I would hope I had a best friend like Kerry-Anne Walker.

The type of best friend who had my back, who fought for justice for me and my children, and who loved me enough to not want my life to be in vain. And that is the best friend that Allison Baden-Clay had.

Allison and Kerry-Anne were best friends for over thirty years. In an Open Letter published in The Courier-Mail (15 July, 2014), Kerry-Anne said:

“I knew her inside and out … Allison was the other half of me; simply the best friend anyone could ever hope to have.

“The many moments we shared as friends and mothers remain with me. We went to school together, travelled together and shared and rejoiced in each other’s beautiful daughters. These are moments that cannot be taken from me, and moments I cannot put a price on. I am blessed to have known her.”

Kerry-Anne Walker was there from day one, keeping the attention away from the children and keeping Allison’s case in the spotlight to ensure she received justice.

When the Court of Appeal wanted to downgrade Baden-Clay’s conviction from murder to manslaughter, she rallied for Allison and her family.

She endured the condescending jibes branding her and her supporters ignorant and out of line.

Now, the High Court has written the final chapter, overturning this appeal and ensuring a life sentence for murder will be observed.

And as Kerry-Anne could say with relief and satisfaction after the ruling: “The common sense of the original jury has prevailed and justice for Allison has finally been realised. The ignorance, it seems, lay elsewhere.”

Kerry-Anne can move on with her life, knowing she did all she could for her best friend and remembering the good times with some sense of peace.

As Kerry-Anne said of Allison in her Open Letter:

“How lucky I was to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”


The Allison Baden-Clay Foundation

The foundation established in Allison’s name continues their hard work to provide a proactive response to family violence in Queensland. For more information about the foundation and how you can be involved, please visit – here. Photo courtesy of The Allison Baden-Clay Foundation.

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