
-With AAP.
1. A 23yo Victorian court clerk has died suddenly just weeks after her relationship with a 68yo magistrate became public.
A court clerk has died after being struck by a car in country Victoria, days after her relationship with a 68-year-old magistrate was reported.
Mirboo North woman Ashleigh Petrie, 23, became engaged to grandfather-of-eight Rod Higgins in September during a 10-day holiday to Fiji.
She was struck and killed by a car about 1am on Monday morning in Metung in East Gippsland.
Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court, where Petrie and Higgins worked, cancelled all hearings yesterday after co-workers learned of the news, news.com.au reported.
Her sudden death has come as a shock to friends, family and co-workers and Petrie’s social media has been flooded with messages since her death was announced.
It was just over a month ago that Petrie shared happy photos from her and Higgins’ holiday to Fiji, where they got engaged after six months together.
“It started with a crush and now I have a ring on my finger. The love of my life asked me to marry him and I said YESSSS,” she wrote.
Ms Petrie and Mr Higgins’ romance moved from private joy to a public controversy after a Victorian Liberal MP called for an investigation by the Judicial Commission of Victoria.
Top Comments
An ordinary citizen's private life, including basically her whole adult relationship history, was plastered all over the internet news, as entertainment. It served no public interest.
People can get outraged by a Leunig cartoon - they need to get outraged by the coverage of this story, and about the death of this woman. Where are you Clementine, Jane Caro?
#1 - I never understood why this couple's love life was splashed all over the papers for the entire country to see. If the Attorney General says the relationship broke no rules, why not just leave them be? Very sorry for her and her family that they've had to deal with all that shit.
Absolutely right, I couldn’t understand it either. We do live in a free Australia, mind you if Morrison has his way it will get less and less free but that is another story. I feel deeply for that young woman, quite tragic.