The mistress of convicted wife-killer Gerard Baden-Clay believed she would eventually build a life with him and his three young daughters.
In an exclusive interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly, Toni McHugh has opened up about how she and the now convicted murderer had high hopes of setting up house together and getting shared custody of his children.
McHugh, who was engaged in a four year affair with Baden-Clay when he violently killed his wife of 14 years, Allison Baden-Clay, says she always considered the couple’s children when they discussed a life together.
“The future I was planning with Gerard, it actually included them. It included Allison! I thought we would all get to the point where we all, you know, shared custody, like adults and got on,” she told The Weekly.
Related: Gerard Baden-Clay’s secret life of betrayal revealed
The former real estate salesperson also shared unsettling details about the moment she came close to Allison’s body.
“We drove over that bridge, and she was under there, and later that day, maybe around noon, we heard a woman’s body has been found, and I knew straight away – instantly – that it was Allison,” Ms McHugh said.
When asked whether or not she felt responsible for Allison’s untimely death, McHugh, who describes herself as ‘Australia’s Monica Lewinsky’ – the most famous White House intern in history, said ‘No’.
Related: Gerard Baden-Clay’s colleague tells: ‘I was working with a murderer’
“It is horrible to have it said that you are the motive (for murder),” she said.
“But no, I’m sorry, he wasn’t thinking about me. He was thinking about himself.”
While McHugh admits she’s still trying to come to terms with what’s happened, she is now planning to write a book about the case.
“I’m the only one who can tell this story,” she said.
Gerard Baden-Clay was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 15 years behind bars for killing Allison and dumping her body in Brisbane’s Kholo Creek.
Read more of this story in the August issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly.
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