Society & Culture The curious case of Ashleigh Petrie

[anzac2020]

Seems like most articles have lifeline below it, even when clearly not suicide.

Beg to differ. Close friend reported her mental state was very fragile in the past week prior to her death.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Why do people care who other people are f***ing? So long as it's not an illegal relationship, of course.

It's so weird. Who cares if some young chick wants to date a grandpa. People really need to get a life and stay out of other people's relationships.

The relationship was unusual due to the age difference, but that in itself wouldn't have drawn much attention.

The issue was that he is a senior magistrate and she was a junior court clerk. When a senior employee is in a sexual relationship with a more junior employee there can be potential issues about conflict of interest, favoritism, undue influence and power imbalance leading to sexual harassment. It seems Higgins was relocated from Sale court circuit to Bendigo as a result of their relationship.

And now she's dead in as yet unexplained circumstances.

 

[danielhm1]

I never met Ashleigh... but I will never forget her face and it haunts me everytime i close my eyes... i have slept about 5 hrs total since the incident happened at 1am Monday morning.

I dont watch the news and deleted all social media since I broke my neck in 2016

https://amp.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/footy-player-feared-hed-never-walk-again-after-horror-onfield-hit/news-story/f3c1f692ca147f46b53da06843d64d98#aoh=15727605349964&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

I moved back home after my wife left me earlier this year...
I have been battling my own demons and also now homeless...

I had finished work and were walking my 2 dogs after a 10hr shift. I wasn't speeding... was completely sober and wasn't tired... the moment she made impact with my car sent shivers down my spine which i still can't seem to get rid off... it was completely pitch black and there was nothing I could have done to avoid her... she had ran straight in front and I felt her poor body collide... I remember calling 000 and running back trying to find her... I new it was a female that made impact with me...

The poor girl... i dont blame her for the way she took her way out of this life... she was obviously going through mental pain so bad it didn't matter how... she just needed to escape... I really really hope you have found peace Ashleigh. I will never forget you and I'm so sorry I hadn't had met you before. To give you a hug... a chat... anything...

I now have no car and having to skate around town which I haven't done in awhile... today I broke my collarbone... right now my life sucks and even though there was nothing I could have done for poor Ashleigh... I'll keep fighting on... surely like will get better. Anyone wishing for a chat about depression please PM me and I'll be more than happy to chat...

To Ashleigh family... my deepest and most sincerest condolences... my thoughts have been with you since I was on the side of the road with her... I can't imagine what your going through as my salty tears fall down my face whilst typing this.

RIP
ASHLEIGH PETRIE
way to young... way too soon.

 

[Jobe Watson]

The relationship was unusual due to the age difference, but that in itself wouldn't have drawn much attention.

The issue was that he is a senior magistrate and she was a junior court clerk. When a senior employee is in a sexual relationship with a more junior employee there can be potential issues about conflict of interest, favoritism, undue influence and power imbalance leading to sexual harassment. It seems Higgins was relocated from Sale court circuit to Bendigo as a result of their relationship.

And now she's dead in as yet unexplained circumstances.

I was more referring to the media outlets who made a big deal out of the fact that a 20-something was dating a 60-something (or however old he is). Same thing happened with Karl Stefanovisjddjuhsd and the chick he started dating after his wife. It really is no one's business, and making judgements on someone's relationship when you've never even met them is weird. The conflict of interest stuff is another matter, and I can see why that caused an issue.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

I was more referring to the media outlets who made a big deal out of the fact that a 20-something was dating a 60-something (or however old he is). Same thing happened with Karl Stefanovisjddjuhsd and the chick he started dating after his wife. It really is no one's business, and making judgements on someone's relationship when you've never even met them is weird. The conflict of interest stuff is another matter, and I can see why that caused an issue.

So you've chosen to miss the point in this case.

Also, racist.

 

[Jobe Watson]

So you've chosen to miss the point in this case.

That's what most of the headlines were. And some journalists like Susie O'Brien had a crack at the girl for being a gold digger. Disgusting. The relationship apparently didn't break any rules (even though concerns were raised) so why was it such a big story if not for the weird age gap?

 

[Bomberboyokay]

That's what most of the headlines were. And some journalists like Susie O'Brien had a crack at the girl for being a gold digger. Disgusting. The relationship apparently didn't break any rules (even though concerns were raised) so why was it such a big story if not for the weird age gap?

Herald Sun ran it because of some old Labor connection and he lived in Sale so who ****ing cares. It it were a Melbourne blueblood judge they wouldn't have said anything.

 

[BFew]

Ep 39 - The sad story of Ashleigh Petrie - Media Watch

The tragic outcome of a young woman thrust in to the media spotlight.

www.abc.net.au

… she was devastated by the salacious revelations of her private life and had absolutely no intentions of commenting on the Magistrates Court.- Email, Rodney Higgins, 1 November, 2019

Media Watch has also spoken to some of Ashleigh’s friends and family. One woman who was texting her daily says she was deeply upset by the media coverage.

With so many people now living their lives on Facebook and Instagram, the media has unprecedented power to expose, ridicule and judge.
They need to be a lot more careful about how they use and abuse it.

 

[Kurve]

Media Watch covered this tonight BFew , the press is hitting back saying Ashleigh was in touch with them every day and was eager to expose the toxic culture within the courts as some sort of whistleblower.

In over her head I suspect.

 

[BFew]

Media Watch covered this tonight BFew , the press is hitting back saying Ashleigh was in touch with them every day and was eager to expose the toxic culture within the courts as some sort of whistleblower.

Does that mean that whistleblowers that go to the media should expect the media to report on their private lives as well as the whistleblowing subject?

 

[Kurve]

Does that mean that whistleblowers that go to the media should expect the media to report on their private lives as well as the whistleblowing subject?

Framing her as a whistleblower didn't quite stack up.

 

[Frank Bunn]

Framing her as a whistleblower didn't quite stack up.

I didn't get that part of it either. It seemed that she voluntarily entered relationships with senior colleagues, with the possible advantages that it would bring. Then she was also talking to the press to expose the toxic culture within the court system.

It's hard to read between the lines but it's possible she was conflicted by the relationships. Enticed by the money and status of her older lovers but also feeling used. Maybe she was dropped when the media heat came on and that unbalanced her even further.

As a public figure I think Rodney Higgins should have made some sort of statement about the death of his fiance.

 

[BFew]

Maybe she was dropped when the media heat came on and that unbalanced her even further.

As a public figure I think Rodney Higgins should have made some sort of statement about the death of his fiance.

Higgins did make a statement, 4 days ago.

(see below link to ABC Media watch, where there is a transcript of this weeks program with some of Higgins statements.

But most of the media appear to have not reported anything about what he said in that interview.

Higgins probably does not want to talk to any of the Commercial media bar the ABC on this.

And the Commercial media would probably rather die in a ditch before quoting Media Watch and giving the ABC publicity, for a story that it previously owned and was using to increase readership and subscriptions

Ep 39 - The sad story of Ashleigh Petrie - Media Watch

The tragic outcome of a young woman thrust in to the media spotlight.

www.abc.net.au

.... this morning, Magistrate Rodney Higgins told us the Chief Magistrate did not want him to be quoted in tonight’s story. We felt strongly that it’s in the public interest to hear from him.....

Last week, Ashleigh Petrie was run down by a car at one o’clock in the morning, on a quiet road in rural Victoria, in what appears to have been a suicide.

She was staying in a hotel near Bairnsdale with her fiance Rod Higgins, who told me she got up at midnight and went out for a walk:

I begged her to stay but she said she needed to clear her head. Over the next hour, she sent me four or five text and voice messages, one of which said, ‘I can’t cope with all the coverage’. She apologised to me and said she loved me but I’d be better off without her.
- Phone interview, Rodney Higgins, 1 November, 2019

Higgins went looking for her and came upon the accident. The ambos were already there. She couldn’t be saved.

Higgins told me that Ashleigh suffered from depression and anxiety, and had told him recently she was “in a dark place”. But he was also adamant the media coverage was a factor in her death:

 

[danielhm1]

"She was staying in a hotel near Bairnsdale with her fiance Rod Higgins, who told me she got up at midnight and went out for a walk:

I begged her to stay but she said she needed to clear her head. Over the next hour, she sent me four or five text and voice messages, one of which said, ‘I can’t cope with all the coverage’. She apologised to me and said she loved me but I’d be better off without her.
- Phone interview, Rodney Higgins, 1"

None of that makes sense she was way more than an hr walk from any hotel near metung or bairnsdale....

 

[Kurve]

I didn't get that part of it either. It seemed that she voluntarily entered relationships with senior colleagues, with the possible advantages that it would bring. Then she was also talking to the press to expose the toxic culture within the court system.

It's hard to read between the lines but it's possible she was conflicted by the relationships. Enticed by the money and status of her older lovers but also feeling used. Maybe she was dropped when the media heat came on and that unbalanced her even further.

As a public figure I think Rodney Higgins should have made some sort of statement about the death of his fiance.

I wouldn't like to judge her motives, she was only 23yo. I'm not even sure at that age many even understand fully the permanency of death or that you probably won't make it out alive by throwing yourself in front of a car. A guy I used to date, his daughter 22yo recently killed herself after an argument with her boyfriend. Dramatically said she was going to do it, drove her car to the end of the court and pressed the pedal to metal driving it straight up the back of a truck that was parked in the street. No history of suicidal ideation.

Which brings me to the magistrate. He was the one with all the power in that relationship, why was so much focus going on a 23yo girl? If anyone has done the wrong thing in this situation, it's him imo.

I could be wrong but the way I'm reading this is that Ashleigh was contacted by the press and she naively engaged thinking she might be able to get them off her back by changing the narrative to the toxic culture in the courts. It backfired on her. Now their defence is to call her an enthusiastic whistleblower. Far from it imo. Just a desperate young girl in over her head.

Edit: She was always in over her head and those old buzzards should have known it

 

[mouncey2franklin]

This is one of the most bizarre and eery threads I have ever read on bigfooty.

I've been here more than ten years in one iteration or another.

 

[PoppedCorn]

Wonder if she stumbled across something she shouldn't have and it effected her quite seriously?

 

[ThatRedHeadChick19]

I think she wanted everyone and anyone to know she was engaged to an older magistrate, being so young and nieve. I dont think she realised the amount of media attention and backlash she would get because of it. In my opinion i think suicide is a selfish thing to do. I think its worse to involve an innocent person in your suicide. If her intention was to end her life that night, she could have done it any other way. Now some poor innocent person has to live with what happened that night as them being the driver. Again young and nieve she was

 

[ThatRedHeadChick19]

She didn't stumble across anything. She had attempted suicide before and had mental health issues and was mentally unwell. That mixed with the things written about her in the media, would have been enough for her to do what she did

 

[PoppedCorn]

You know she did or didn't stumble across something how?

 

[ThatRedHeadChick19]

She didnt stumble across anything

 

[PoppedCorn]

You havent answered the question

 

[ThatRedHeadChick19]

I dont want to answer the question

 

[Frank Bunn]

This is one of the most bizarre and eery threads I have ever read on bigfooty.

I've been here more than ten years in one iteration or another.

There's people that claim to have known her and a guy that says he was the driver of the car!

 

[danielhm1]

There's people that claim to have known her and a guy that says he was the driver of the car!

Send me a PM... I was the driver... I dont claim to be... I'm trying to deal with this in my own way... and I'm struggling.