A trust fund has been set up to help the children of former Ulladulla woman Michelle Reynolds who was allegedly stabbed to death in her Queensland home on April 4.
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Michelle’s six children, aged between five and 19, are in the care of relatives and the fund has been set up to secure their futures.
Her ex-husband Rob Reynolds from Ulladulla has two of his children, Simon, 17, and Timothy, 14, in his care, while his eldest, 19-year-old Jack, remains in Queensland.
Michelle’s three younger children, John, 9, Sarah, 7, and Michael, 5 are living with their father in Queensland.
Her 47-year-old partner, Wayne Ashley O'Sullivan, has faced Ipswich Magistrates Court over the alleged stabbing murder of Michelle, aged 46, at her home in Rosewood west of Ipswich.
O’Sullivan’s case will next be mentioned in court on May 4.
Michelle’s sister Fiona Zacher of Ulladulla, said the family had received overwhelming support from communities both here and in Queensland and they were doing their best to secure the future of her children.
“We all know that while money cannot bring their mother back, it will ease some of the burden of the children as they continue to live their lives with the grief that has been struck upon them,” she said.
She said, while the three older boys were trying to stay strong, the pain and heartache being felt by her nieces and nephews was ripping her heart out.
“The confusion I see in the little children's faces when I see them playing and then they stop and look around, it's like their little hearts are breaking right in front of me,” she said.
“It takes my breath away when I think of Michelle's children - when I think about how they are now living their lives with pain that is unimaginable.”
Funds can be donated through the NAB Ulladulla or online via the Facebook page ‘Michelle's Children's Trust Fund’.
Fiona said Michelle was a generous person who “always put her kids first”.
“She was never a wealthy woman, but she raised six kids and they always came first,” she added.
“Michelle was always helping others and her friends said she would’ve done anything for them.
“Michelle fought every single day for her children.
“Now we must stand together and keep that fight alive.”
Michelle grew up in Yass and holidayed with her family in Burrill Lake as a youngster and her parents, Bob and Shirley Francis, later retired in Ulladulla before they passed away.
She lived in Ulladulla for 10 years with her former husband Rob, a farrier, and their three children were born in the local area before the couple separated and Michelle moved to Queensland in 2007.
She met another man who was the father of her three younger children, before they separated and she began her relationship with O’Sullivan, her accused killer.
Fiona said Michelle was taken from her family without warning and the most gut-wrenching feeling comes over her when she thinks that Michelle was taken from her children “at the hands of someone else”.
“We are yet to really believe what happened to our Michelle, something so tragic that it is unbelievable,” she said.
“So tragic that our hearts and minds are still pining for answers that will never be answered.
“It's so difficult to put into words, the feelings and emotions we are feeling.”
Anti-violence campaigners staged a silent rally in Brisbane in the name of two Queensland mothers, including Michelle, killed in alleged domestic violence incidents in the same week.
Fiona aims to spread the message that “domestic violence is never the answer”.
“There is no excuse, the damage it does and what it leaves behind is just not fair,” she said.
“Michelle has become another statistic in the domestic violence epidemic that is facing our society today.”
Michelle was farewelled at the Centenary Memorial Gardens in Sumner, Queensland on Thursday April 14.
Anyone seeking assistance in relation to family violence can call the Domestic Violence Line 1800 656 463.
