Less than a month before his planned trial, Kelly Wilkinson’s estranged husband entered a guilty plea to her murder after she was doused in petrol and set ablaze.
On Wednesday, the 37-year-old Brian Earl Johnston made an appearance via video connection before the Brisbane Supreme Court to be charged with one count of killing Wilkinson in a Gold Coast garden on April 20, 2021, which was a domestic violence offence.
Johnston was requested to reaffirm his guilty plea by Justice Peter Callaghan since there was some confusion in the video link provided by the jail.
The mother-of-three was allegedly tied up by the prosecution before being set ablaze at her Arundel residence.
The former US Marine has also been accused of violating an order against domestic abuse and his bail conditions.
Two streets from the house, Johnston was taken into custody with burns on his hands.
When asked whether he wanted to comment in court on Wednesday regarding why he shouldn’t receive a punishment, Johnston remained silent.
Kim Bryson, the defence attorney, stated that she and Philip McCarthy, the crown prosecutor, had decided that March 13 would be a good date for the sentence hearing.
“There are some factual matters that remain contested in relation to the background of the relationship … we have been frustrated in our efforts to get out to the prison due to the lockdowns that have occurred,” Bryson stated.
McCarthy claimed that the reason behind Johnston’s murder of Wilkinson was likewise a matter of fact dispute.
Callaghan ordered Johnston to stay in jail and warned he could modify the sentence date if necessary.
