Priscilla Dickie-Victim Impact Statement-Mother of Allison

She cleared her throat and began. “She was an incredible achiever …,” she said,

Ms Dickie said it was obvious to her that one of the last things her daughter did was to “leave her mark on her husband”.

She said she waited for 10 days at the Brookfield Showgrounds for news her daughter’s body was found. “We went from being a happily retired couple … to being guardians for three young girls,” she said.

“The impact of finding out about the troubled relationship over the past few years has been distressing. It has devastated me to know Allison had been living in a fearful relationship and had been trying to handle such a situation alone.”

Ms Dickie said Baden-Clay’s affairs, self-interest and lies had disgusted her and her family.

“He betrayed her. He has made a mockery of their marriage and their life together,” she said.

She said he had shown no remorse.

“For the love of her husband and her children, Allison stayed and she died,” Ms Dickie said.

She said the impact of her daughter’s death had completely changed her life and that of her family.

“Allison did not leave her girls. She had so much to offer them, she just loved them,” she said.

Ms Dickie said the support of family and friends gave her the strength to carry on as they waited for news following the disappearance of her daughter on April 20, 2012.

“We were shocked that after all that time, her husband did not once come to search at the command centre,” she said.

“No one can take the place of a mother and my heart breaks as I do my very best to …”

She said she now cared for her grandchildren.

“They miss her terribly and cry for her every night. The girls will never see their mother again, not just now, but ever,” she said.

Ms Dickie said through tears it was heartbreaking the three girls had been deprived of the love of a caring and devoted mother. “The tragedy of it all is that she had so much to offer,” she said.

“Our lives are so very different, everything has changed.”

She said her life now revolved around her three grandchildren.

“You have changed your daughter’s destiny and sentenced them to a journey they must take through life as a mother …,” she said.