"Today I am thinking of three little girls."

This afternoon when Justice John Byrne announced that Gerard Baden Clay had been found guilty of murdering his wife, Allison – her friends and family cheered from their seats in the courtroom. In that moment they were jubilant. And so was I.

‘They bloody got him,’ I thought feeling a flood of relief. Justice had been served.

But the happiness, the satisfaction I felt in those first few moments quickly dissipated and I stood there staring at the TV  this afternoon feeling devastated. Hollow. Numb.

And that’s because there are no winners today. Not really.  Regardless of the jury’s verdict as welcome as it was – an innocent woman was murdered in her own home at the hands of the man who should have loved her the most.  There are no winners because a mother was robbed – snatched – from the lives of her children.

For those girls there are no more walks to the classroom holding mum’s hand. No more of mummy’s soothing arms and comforting voice when nightmares come to call.  First dates, first dances, first bras, first heartbreak – those moments when every girl longs just for her mum – they’ll be met no with a mother’s love but with a primal pain at the aching gap that has been left behind.

This afternoon as Gerard Baden Clay was handed a life sentence, his three little girls were handed life sentences of their own.

And tonight and tomorrow and for days and months and years to come  they will be left to grapple with the inconceivable notion, that their own father murdered their mother. That she is gone because of him.

And that is a burden no child should ever have to bear. A heartbreak no child should be asked to endure.

There are no winners today.

Three little girls lost both their parents this afternoon but more than that they lost everything they believed about their dad. Their protector, their hero  – he died today the moment that guilty verdict was handed down.

So tonight as I tuck my own three children into bed, as I stroke their foreheads and hand them cuddly toys, as I sit with my daughter as she whispers tales from school – her joys and her fears – I will say a prayer for Allison’s three little girls.

May you always know that you can rise above this tragedy and go on to lead joyous, fulfilling, happy lives.

May you feel the arms of an entire nation holding you up tonight and every night when the weight of what you have endured brings you to your knees.

May you spend your days and nights feeling loved by the family around you – grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins – who will love you and cherish you for the rest of your lives.

And as you go to sleep each night may you feel secure in the knowledge that your mother, the intelligent, the articulate, the generous, kind and resilient Allison June Baden Clay, loved you with all her heart. As does this entire nation.

On Friday 1st August it’s Wear Yellow for Allison Baden-Clay Day.  This day is not about raising money. Instead Allison’s friends and family asks you to wear some yellow and perform an act of kindness (big or small) in memory of Allison.  If you wish to donate money to The Late Allison Baden-Clay Children’s Trust Fund, you can do so using these details —  BSB: 084 737  Account Number: 943 084 078