The mother of a popular and talented young athlete found her body in Central Coast Creek in New South Wales, revealing their heartbreaking last conversation.
Audrey Griffin, 19, died on the afternoon of March 24 at Erina Creek as she celebrated with friends the night before with Gosford Pub.
The teenager has been accepted to join the Navy in April and visited the Central Coast – where she grew up – to meet her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney.
Her mother, Kathleen Kirby, said the two exchanged messages from that day and she told her she was proud of herself and loved her very much.
Ms. Kirby told Sydney Morning that the world was under her feet.
Her death was not as suspicious as a preliminary autopsy, initially suggesting that Ms. Griffin had drowned.
However, after further inquiry, police charged Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, with the murder of 53, after being arrested in Sydney suburbs.
“Police will claim that the man had a physical dispute with the victim,” the police statement said.
Audrey Griffin (left) and her mother, Kathleen Kirby (right) share a heartbreaking exchange of words, after her body was found in Central Coast Creek the day before
Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, is accused of murder
He has also been hit by 11 unlinked domestic violence charges.
The man did not apply for bail in the Downing Center District Court on Tuesday and formally refused.
The breakthrough came just a few days later when police released a few days after they hoped the image of a man they would be associated with Ms. Griffin’s death.
Ms. Griffin left the Gosford Hotel around 2 a.m. and walked towards her father’s house after a failed attempt to obtain Uber.
Ms. Kirby raised her daughter after she separated from Audrey’s father. She said she talked to friends while walking and told them she was trying to blow out the taxi.
“She was going home along the water for a long time, obviously trying to blow out the taxi or she would have gone through Gosford’s heart.”
“We just want justice,” she said.
Ms. Griffin went to New Zealand for the tough Anzco Half-Ironman event two weeks before her death, and she completed 194 of 295 women in just six and a half hours.
March 24
Ms. Griffin’s family said the 19-year-old “brings endless laughter and joy to everyone.” Pictured is Audrey visiting Japan
She is remembered as “a determined athlete, a talented student and a popular teenager”.
Ms. Griffin is a beloved member of the Terrigal Sharks rugby league and the local lifesaving club.
After completing HSC in 2023, Ms. Griffin juggled the training and worked part-time at Crown Plaza Terrigal in a research commitment from the University of Technology Sydney.
Next, Torrance will appear in court on June 17.
