Kelly Wilkinson was turned away from Southport police station and told to “cool off, give Brian a break” while seeking help just four days before her estranged husband, Brian Earl Johnston, burned her to death in 2021, an inquest has heard.

The allegation was made in an extraordinary 11th hour submission by the lawyer acting for her family as they successfully applied to adjourn the coronial inquiry to hear additional evidence about the allegation.

Their lawyer, Mitch Rawlings, said Queensland police’s claim during the inquest that 12 April 2021 was the last time Wilkinson engaged with police was false.

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He said that she also attended the police station on 16 April – four days before her murder – but that there is no record of this attendance in the internal police system.

“One of Kelly’s sisters drove her to the Southport police station, where she remained in the car while Kelly got out of the car with some documents,” Rawlings said.

“She returned to the car moments later and complained that the person at the front desk turned her away saying words to the effect of, ‘Just cool off, give Brian a break,’ words to that effect.”

Rawlings said Wilkinson had then called two additional people and repeated the same story.

He said Wilkinson’s sister, Danielle Carroll, had made the allegation in an interview with police, subsequent to Wilkinson’s death.

Thursday was scheduled to be the final day of a three-day hearing into Wilkinson’s 2021 murder, when Johnston stabbed her, doused her with petrol and set her on fire at her Gold Coast home.

Deputy state coroner Stephanie Gallagher has already heard this week that police missed two opportunities to act in the days before Wilkinson’s death.

One officer improperly granted bail to Johnston eight days before he murdered Wilkinson on 20 April 2021, the court heard on Wednesday.

Another officer improperly recorded Wilkinson’s attendance at Southport, and noted in an internal police log that she was “cop shopping” while she was reporting a complaint, because she had previously attended another station on the same day.

Katherine McGree, acting for the Gold Coast-based Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, argued that the 16 April incident could be considered a third missed opportunity.

She said the centre had forwarded a complaint by Wilkinson to the police asking for a review of her matter. On 13 April an officer emailed back to advise her to return to the police station if she had evidence to support her complaint, McGree said.

“Kelly was, in fact, following the advice that she had received from Queensland police. She fronted at the counter, and she was turned away,” McGree told the court.

Gallagher decided to adjourn the inquest to a future date to allow the new evidence to be considered.

“These are allegations at this time and there’s an investigation that will follow,” she said.

The coroner has heard that Wilkinson contacted police on four occasions before her murder, not including 16 April.

She was flagged as a high-risk aggrieved party, meaning “proactive police response to risk is recommended”. But a referral to a specialist domestic violence liaison officer was never opened, and she never had a safety plan prepared.

Johnston, 37, pleaded guilty to Wilkinson’s murder in 2024. Justice Peter Applegarth sentenced him to life in prison.

The court found he repeatedly stabbed Wilkinson and used a 20-litre jerry can of petrol to set her on fire in the early morning at her home.

Outside court Carroll thanked the coroner for “having a closer look at the issues around Kelly’s death”.

“All that Kelly wanted from life was to love and be loved, and there are no words for the way she suffered in her last moments. There will never be any words to pass into her children to make them feel okay. A mother can never be replaced,” she told the inquest earlier on Thursday.

The inquest continues.

In Australia, the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, call the national domestic abuse helpline on 0808 2000 247, or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines may be found via www.befrienders.org.