For the second time in less than a week in South East Queensland, a family is mourning the loss of a woman alleged to have met a violent end at the hands of her one-time partner.
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Bribie Island mother-of-two Adelle Collins, 39, and Gold Coast mother-to-be Fabiana Palhares, 34, may never have met but their stories are strikingly similar.
Both women turned to the law seeking protection from allegedly violent ex-partners.
Both are subsequently alleged to have been brutally murdered by them.
At the time of their deaths, just six days apart, both Ms Collins and Ms Palhares had sought domestic violence orders from the courts in a bid to prevent their former partners contacting them.
On Saturday, Ms Collins' father found her bloodied body in her home.
Her former boyfriend Steven Storie, 45, stands accused of breaking in and stabbing her to death.
The previous Monday, Ms Palhares' estranged boyfriend Brock Wall, 34, allegedly repeatedly bludgeoned the 10-weeks pregnant Brazilian national in the head with a tomahawk.
She was rushed to hospital but later died.
Both men have been remanded in custody charged with the murders of their respective former partners.
Ms Collins' death came just one week after she sought a DVO against Mr Storie, according to her friend Sammi De, who described Ms Collins, a foster carer, as an "angel".
When Mr Wall allegedly attacked Ms Palhares, he was already scheduled to appear in court in mid-February for breaching the order the mother-to-be had taken out against him by breaking into her home in January.
According to University of Queensland law professor Heather Douglas, it demonstrates that though the legal framework is in place to protect vulnerable women, its implementation can prove to be sadly lacking.
"A lot of women I have spoken to say it does take a number of events of breach before anything is done, so I do wonder if we should be stronger earlier in responding at the outset rather than waiting for it to escalate to this level," she said.
Professor Douglas said the latest Australian crime statistics showed 40 per cent of murders in Australia were domestic-related and women were overwhelmingly represented.
She said about 80 per cent of all women murdered in the country were killed in domestic incidents.
Statistics compiled by the Australian Institute of Criminology show that nearly 60 per cent of murders occur in a dwelling and 40 per cent of total murders are inflicted with a knife.
Queensland, in particular, had "a long way to go" in dealing with situations of domestic violence, according to Professor Douglas.
She said there was minimal support services for women attempting to extricate themselves from violent relationships and a prevailing attitude among police that often dismiss domestic calls as a private issue between a couple, rather than a criminal offence.
"There are difficulties in policing and social services, that make it practically impossible for women to report these blokes and get out of the house and move on, we really need support," she said.
"I think police see it as relationship difficulties and feel a bit uncomfortable about involving themselves in these instances.
"There is also frustration that women often don't follow through their complaints in the courts but that leads to other questions we need to ask about women witnesses and whether they need to be better supported.
"Women are largely left to their own devices in Queensland."
Queensland Police Service was contacted for comment.
Professor Douglas said Victorian police had made huge advances in training surrounding domestic incidents, as well as greater access to men's behavioural change programs, which improves sentencing options for magistrates.
Ms Collins' friend, Ms De, said she believed her friend seeking the order inflamed her situation but no-one expected its alleged dramatic escalation.
"A DVO doesn't offer any protection at all," she said tearfully.
"It's really hard, her personality, she wouldn't have a hateful bone in her body, she was really nice when this was happening, she never got bitter."
About 50 people, largely made up of friends of Ms Collins, gathered outside Redcliffe Magistrates Court on Monday morning, where Mr Storie appeared for the first time charged with her murder.
Bronwyn Rees, chief executive of domestic violence support and advocacy group Rise Queensland, said incidents of intimate partner homicide remained far too high.
"Every weekend I expect a death, a woman, child or man is going to die behind closed doors," she said.
"It's time the government acted."
