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Monday's Final Word
The mother of a popular and talented young sportswoman whose body was found in a NSW Central Coast creek has revealed their heartbreaking last conversation.
Audrey Griffin, 19, was found dead in Erina Creek on the afternoon of March 24, after she had spent the previous night celebrating with friends at a Gosford pub.
The teenager had been accepted to join the Navy in April and had visited the Central Coast – where she grew up – to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney.
Her mother, Kathleen Kirby, said the pair had exchanged messages that day in which she told her she was proud of her and loved her very much.
‘She had the world at her feet,’ Ms Kirby told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Her death wasn’t deemed as suspicious as a preliminary autopsy had initially suggested that Ms Griffin had drowned.
However, following further inquiries, police have charged Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, with her murder after he was arrested in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills on Monday.
‘Police will allege the man had a physical altercation with the victim,’ a police statement said.
Audrey Griffin (left) and her mother Kathleen Kirby (right) shared a heartbreaking text exchange a day before her body was found in a central coast creek
Adrian Noel Torrens, 53, has been charged with murder
He was also hit with 11 unlinked domestic violence charges.
The man did not apply for bail in Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday and it was formally refused.
The breakthrough emerged just days after police released an image of a man they wished to speak to in connection to Ms Griffin’s death but also stated he was not a suspect and foul play was not involved.
Ms Griffin had left the Gosford Hotel about 2am and walked towards her father’s house after unsuccessfully trying to get an Uber.
Ms Kirby – who raised her daughter after she separated from Audrey’s father – said she’d spoken to her friends while walking and told them she was trying to hail a taxi.
‘She’d taken the long way home along the water, obviously to try and hail down a cab, or she would have taken a shortcut through the heart of Gosford.’
‘We just want justice,’ she said.
A fortnight before her death, Ms Griffin travelled to New Zealand to compete in the gruelling ANZCO half-ironman event, which she completed in just over six-and-a-half hours to place 194th out of 295 women.
Audrey Griffin’s body was pulled from Erina Creek on the NSW Central Coast on March 24
Ms Griffin’s family said the 19-year-old ‘brought endless laughter and joy to everyone’. Pictured is Audrey visiting Japan
She has been remembered as a ‘determined athlete, talented student and well-liked teenager’.
Ms Griffin was a much-loved member of the Terrigal Sharks rugby league and local life saving clubs.
After completing her HSC in 2023, Ms Griffin juggled training and a part-time job at Crown Plaza Terrigal along with study commitments at University of Technology Sydney.
Torrens will next appear in court on June 17.
