Molly Wilkes: Mother of Perth woman who died by suicide campaigns for a change to stop abusers profiting from victims' deaths

The mother of a young woman who took her own life after allegedly suffering abuse at the hands of her husband is calling for a change in the law after he received her $65,000 superannuation payout. 

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 US two years earlier. The couple married not long after.

But Molly's mother Julie Adams believes that her 'beautiful' and 'feisty' daughter died from domestic violence-related suicide after her husband allegedly subjected her to 'severe emotional, sexual, physical and financial abuse'.

'Molly had tried to leave the perpetrator of her abuse six times since they married in January 2021,' Ms 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 her life.

'The week before her death Molly had packed her bags and was ready to leave … however, once he found out about her plans, his emotional torture and manipulation of her escalated.

'Exhausted, and completely isolated in a foreign country, she did not have the energy to leave.'

Ms Adams' submission to the inquiry was delayed due to 'unparliamentary language'.

Ms Adams claimed that the delay was due to the inclusion of examples of the hundreds of abusive text messages her daughter received from her husband.

These included him allegedly calling her a 'f***ing retard', a 'f***ing sook', a 'whore' and an 'unloyal cheating c***'.   

'In the last weeks of her life, Molly endured death threats : "I am going to f***ing murder you and spend the rest of my life happily in jail" (and) suicide encouragement: "Dig a hole and bury yourself in it you pathetic c***",' Ms Adams revealed.

Other messages allegedly contain taunts about a new relationship he was having with another woman. 

'Numerous messages of financial abuse including requesting her to ask me for money, wanting to access her inheritance from her grandmother (my mother), confusing messages indicating that he had all their finances in order whilst at the same time taking out a payday loan, and words to the effect of her being a financial liability,' the submission continued. 

Molly's husband has never been charged with any offence. 

At the time of her death, she had a superannuation account with HESTA but didn't have a will. 

Although Molly listed her mother as her beneficiary, current laws mean that her husband is legally entitled to the money. 

He was paid the full amount - $65,000 - last December. 

Ms Adams was told by HESTA that they could only intervene if the eligible dependent was formally charged with murder. 

This means that even if Molly's husband had been charged with abuse, he would still receive the payout. 

Ms Adams is now campaigning for a change in the law to make it much harder for a domestic violence offender to walk away with a partner's superannuation after their death. 

Her submission details several ways financial institutions can minimise the risk of financial abuse, such as the introduction of a new ‘domestic violence related suicide’ cause of death for death certificates, updating terms and conditions to ban misuse of their products and services and stricter witnessing requirements for superannuation binding death benefit nominations. 

Molly's husband told the The Australian that his wife had started 'spiralling' while he was working away from home and the pair had endured a 'couple of rough nights'.

'Me and my wife had an amazing relationship, we built stuff that people wouldn’t do in their entire lifetimes,' he told the paper.

'My wife’s dead, it’s over. The superannuation has been settled in court. She wanted nothing to do with Australia. 

'If she was alive today she’d 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 inability to protect my daughter, to keep her safe, will be something I have to live with forever,' she told the paper. 

The inquiry will hold its next public hearing in Perth this Wednesday (July 10).

 If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.