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The mother who is suspected to have taken her own life and that of her eight-year-old daughter this week worked in a field with one of the highest incidences of suicide, and may have believed she was protecting her child, an expert says.
Dr Tiffany Wilkes, 54, and her daughter Clementine, eight, were found dead at a rental property in Kenmore Hills, an affluent suburb in west Brisbane, on Monday afternoon by police responding to a welfare check.
Rumours circulating online suggest Clementine was an IVF baby, and someone who appeared to be familiar with the mother's situation said she was 'struggling with health issues' and had 'little family support'.
The insider's claims are supported by property records obtained by the Daily Mail that indicate both of Dr Wilkes parents' are deceased.
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told the Daily Mail there are a range of contextual factors that may motivate someone to commit a murder-suicide, but the major driver is 'overwhelming depression and despair'.
'The perpetrator can no longer put up with their life, they are possibly psychotically depressed, and they feel they can’t leave the other person behind to fend for themselves,' Mr Watson-Munro said.
'That can relate to spouse situations, or acts of infanticide where parents kill a child then themselves.
Dr Tiffany Wilkes, 54, is believed to have murdered her daughter, Clementine, eight, before taking her own life
The bodies of the mother and daughter were found at a rental property in Kenmore Hills (pictured), in Brisbane's western suburbs, on Monday
'You can also have a mass murder-suicide. An example of that is (missing Malaysian Airlines flight) MH370, where there is evidence the pilot was possibly psychotically depressed.'
Mr Munro-Watson said anger or revenge can also provoke murder-suicides, such as the case of Brisbane mum Hannah Clarke, 31, and her children - Laianah, four, Aaliyah, six, and Trey, three - who were killed in 2020.
Clarke had only recently left the children's father, Rowan Baxter, before he tracked them down in a suburban street, doused the four of them in petrol and set them alight before taking his own life.
Another notable case was convicted murderer Robert Farquharson who killed his three sons - Jai, ten, Tyler, seven, and Bailey, two - by plunging their car into a dam near Geelong in 2005.
He had been returning the boys to their mother after a Father's Day access visit.
While Farquharson survived and is currently serving a life sentence, Mr Munro-Watson said the same psychological dynamics were at play - revenge mixed with depression.
'We have seen examples of this [types of homicide-suicides] - a mother or father who is burdened with depression, there is a breakdown of a relationship, then they kill the child or spouse as an act of revenge,' he said.
'(That individual may think) "I am going to deprive you of the child and myself as an act of retribution".'
Criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro has revealed the motivational factors behind murder-suicides
Hannah Clarke and her three young children (pictured) were murdered by her controlling ex Rowan Baxter after he ambushed their morning school run on February 19, 2020
While such perpetrators of murder-suicides tend to be severely or psychotically depressed, Mr Watson-Munro said they may not be considered 'legally insane' by court standards, which test whether the individual is aware of the consequences of their actions.
He said although their depression may impair their judgement, homicide-suicide perpetrators still have a clear intention in mind.
Public perceptions of female versus male offenders also tend to differ, with women typically associated with depressive episodes and the latter with anger and revenge.
However, Mr Munro-Watson said there are no distinct gendered motivational influences which are 'pretty universal' across the board.
'There seems to be more sympathy for women and men can be erroneously painted as the ogres - that isn't to say they aren't [in some cases],' he said.
'But to take the dramatic step to end your children's life and your own life - it speaks to a person, in common parlance, as "quite unhinged".'
A question that is asked in the wake of these types of tragedies is why some depressed individuals contemplating suicide take the additional step into homicide.
Mr Watson-Munro said severe depression is a major factor in murder-suicides. Dr Wilkes had reportedly stopped working over the past 18 months and was bouncing between rental properties
Mr Watson-Munro said one of the clinical differences between suicide and homicide-suicide is the 'intensity' of the depression, which can radically skew judgement.
As the stresses of modern life increase, Mr Watson-Munro fears cases will rise as families grapple with pressures such as the cost of living crisis and barriers to accessing mental health services, such as long wait periods and lack of resources.
He said early intervention is the best measure to tackle the issue, and people who suspect a loved one is suffering with depression should act promptly to help them get support.
'It always comes as a great surprise to others in the person's life when suicide occurs. [They may say] "I didn't see it coming.. She seemed so normal",' he said.
'People don't telegraph their true inner world, but in retrospect, they will say "there were warning signs".
'People start giving away belongings, they withdraw, become less communicative. These are symptoms of severe depression.
'It doesn’t always lead to that [homicide-suicide], but we need to be aware of the psychological symptoms.'
Why doctors are at a greater risk of suicide
The concerning insights come as studies show certain careers carry a greater risk of self-harm.
A 2020 study by Monash University found medical practitioners were among the professions with an increased risk of suicide.
Dr Wilkes was a highly regarded specialist who had worked across major Queensland hospitals, including Brisbane's Princess Alexandra, for the past 13 years.
She was also listed as an anaesthetist and pain management expert at the private Wesley Hospital in Auchenflower, where she was described as specialising 'in Hepato-biliary and liver transplant anaesthesia as well as neuro-anaesthesia'.
The job provides knowledge of, and access to, lethal drugs and dosages, as it do some of the other professions with high rates of suicide: vets, nurses, midwives, and paramedics.
Those professions that provide access to guns, such as farmers and police, also have a high suicide risk, as do jobs in showbusiness, where drug use may be more common, and career highs and lows more pronounced.
Researchers found the risk of suicide is more prevalent in occupations where there is a high job demand, low autonomy or control, shift work, physical danger and access to lethal means of suicide.
According to the Monash report, female doctors are more likely to take their own lives than their male counterparts, with relationship problems being the most frequently noted life event prior to suicide.
'This discrepancy may reflect gender role stress experienced by women in medical and nursing professions such as institutionalised barriers to career advancement, as well as additional pressure to undertake domestic labour and caregiving roles,' the study reads.
Dr Wilkes was a highly regarded specialist anaesthetist, who had worked for Queensland Health for more than 13 years
Furthermore, other studies suggest the issue appears to be more prominent within the field of anaesthesiology.
A 2019 report by UK-based Association of Anaethetists found doctors within the specialist field have a greater suicide risk than other medical professions.
'Anaesthetists have been highlighted as having a greater risk of suicide than other specialties,' the report says.
'Theories include access to, and knowledge of, potentially lethal drugs and means of their administration; the particular stresses of working within the specialty; and the personality type of doctors entering anaesthesia.'
According to the report, suicide risk factors in the medical profession include stress arising from complaints or bullying, high physical/mental demand, the effects of ageing, fatigue and uncontrollable long hours/shift working with social or professional isolation, compounded by examinations and frequent rotations for trainees.
The report also notes other risk factors as a perfectionist personality type – which, while predictive of good doctors can also increase the risk of developing mental illness - as well as a reluctance to seek medical help.
'This reluctance may arise from fear of stigma, a lack of time, a misplaced work ethic or concerns over privacy/confidentiality including potential regulatory or disciplinary procedures,' it reads.
On average, around 3000 Australians die by suicide each year - or around eight people a day - and it is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15-24 years, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Dr Wilkes worked at various major hospitals across the state, including Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital
In comparison, murder-suicides in Australia are relatively rare.
According to analysis from the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), there are around 20 murder-suicides each year, with the crime accounting for around 6 per cent of total annual homicide deaths.
While there is a paucity of recent murder-suicide data, historic statistics show trends over the past two decades tend to be in flux.
A 1998 AIC report found the most common type of murder-suicide involved current or former partners (43 per cent) followed by that of a parent killing their child (14 per cent).
However, the most recent AIC murder-suicide report, issued in 2008, noted the most common type of murder-suicide in 2006-2007 involved a parent killing their children (38 per cent) followed by intimate partner homicide (31 per cent).
How the Kenmore Hills tragedy unfolded
Emergency services rushed to the $1000-a-night Airbnb property, located about 20km from the pair's Norman Park home, on Monday afternoon after Dr Wilkes colleague received an email outlining the prominent anaesthetist's plans.
It is understood first responders found the pair's bodies outside of the home and police are treating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
In the last 18 months, Dr Wilkes stopped working shifts and is believed to have been hopping between short-term rental properties and using her car for storage as she struggled with her mental health, even though she owned a luxury townhouse.
Dr Wilkes was officially listed as a resident of Norman Park, but neighbours at her Longfellow Street townhouse told Daily Mail she had never moved into the residence after purchasing it for $1.27M two years ago.
'She bought the place about two years ago but never ever moved in, which I always thought was weird,' one neighbour said.
'She did renovations to a place that was already pretty new. I think they were only minor - like the floorboards and a bathroom.
'But she never came back.'
The neighbour said he only met Dr Wilkes once when she came to visit the property.
Dr Wilkes bought this town house in Norman Park in 2023, but never moved in
Boxes wrapped in plastic could be seen inside the unfurnished home on Wednesday
Dr Wilkes' car, filled with her belongings, was seen abandoned outside of the rental property on Wednesday
He said they spoke for about ten minutes while Clementine was outside kicking a football.
One person who appeared to have insider knowledge of Dr Wilkes situation has reported online that she was 'struggling with health issues' and had 'little family support'.
Asked if Dr Wilkes appeared well during their interaction, the neighbour said 'she did' but 'clearly wasn't, to do something like this'.
'She seemed normal - as normal as anyone can seem when you speak to them for 10 minutes anyway,' he said.
'When I saw her she was just wandering around looking at the place after she bought it.
'She seemed to know a bit about the biological dad, she said Clementine was good at football like him.
'We never even exchanged details. I never saw her again.'
The two storey townhouse - which sits in the middle of a block of three - appeared unoccupied when visited by the Daily Mail on Wednesday.
Finger-print dust could be seen coating the porch while boxes wrapped in plastic sat on grouped together in the middle of the floor of her unfurnished kitchen.
Meanwhile, the only remaining sign of the tragedy on Tinarra Crescent on Wednesday was Dr Wilkes abandoned black Mercedes hatchback.
The vehicle, labelled with Queensland Police stickers, remains parked on the road metres away from the rental property, filled with Dr Wilkes' and her daughter's personal belongings, including children's toys, clothes, and linen.
Police investigations into the incident continue.
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