The estranged wife of killer Adrian Torrens has revealed how he sent a barrage of texts threatening to kill her and her son on the night he murdered teenager Audrey Griffin.
Ironwoman athlete Audrey, 19, was found dead in Erina Creek on the NSW Central Coast in March. Police initially said her death was not suspicious.
But last week they arrested Torrens, 53, over her murder after he was identified in newly-released CCTV footage. Three days later, Torrens took his own life while in custody in Sydney’s Silverwater jail.
He was already serving a community corrections order for breaching an apprehended violence order against his estranged wife when he killed Audrey.
Now Torrens estranged wife, Michelle, who does not wish to share her surname, has broken her silence about her life with him.
She spoke exclusively to Daily Mail Australia from her modest home on the NSW Central Coast where she previously lived with Torrens and her two children.
Michelle revealed that she separated with Torrens last September, just two years after the couple had reignited their relationship, decades after first meeting at school – and she has since tried to block him out of her life.
But in the hours leading up to Audrey’s murder and after, he bombarded her with a string of chilling threats.
Michelle pictured with her estranged husband prior to their separation seven months ago
Audrey Griffin’s body was found at Erina Creek last month
Michelle was separated from killer Adrian Torrens when he murdered teenager Audrey Griffin
‘He rang me 12 times and because he was blocked, I was receiving them as text messages,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
‘He started calling from 7pm and the last phone call was at 12.10am on the night he killed her.
‘He kept threatening to kill my son and I… my children are completely traumatised.’
The revelation comes after the traffic controller committed suicide while in jail three days after his arrest for Ms Griffin’s murder.
NSW Chief Magistrate Judge Michael Allen had previously spared Torrens jail time when he pleaded guilty to the domestic violence offence and instead imposed an 18-month community correction order.
Torrens was arrested on Easter Monday and charged with murder, almost one month after Ms Griffin’s body was discovered in the creek bed near The Entrance Road at Erina.
Police had initially treated her death as a drowning after her partially submerged body was discovered on the afternoon of March 24.
But that changed when Torrens confessed to the killing in a phone call to an associate, which triggered a tip off to police and sparked the homicide investigation.
Audrey Griffin’s mother Kathleen Kirby has issued a heartbreaking message after her death
Adrian Torrens confessed to the killing in a phone call to an associate, which triggered a tip off to police and sparked the homicide investigation
Adrian Torrens (pictured left) reunited with high school flame Michelle on Facebook before separating in 2024
Police earlier this month appealed to the public for new information as they released a CCTV screenshot of Torrens walking near Hotel Gosford.
It was taken around the time Audrey had left her friends and begun walking home towards Terrigal about 2am, after being unable to catch an Uber ride to her father’s home.
Audrey was preparing to begin a 10 week officer training course in April with the Royal Australian Navy.
She had visited the Central Coast – where she grew up – to see her grandparents and invite her friends to a farewell party in Sydney the next weekend.
Detectives believe Torrens followed Ms Griffin, whom he didn’t know, from the pub before assaulting her.
Police said Torrens’ DNA was found under Griffin’s fingernails and that a witness heard a high-pitched scream in the area around 3am.
He was later arrested and charged with Griffin’s murder after he was identified from the CCTV footage.
A distraught Michelle says both she and Audrey had been let down by the legal system.
She also revealed she and her family had been living in fear for several months.
More than 1,000 mourners gathered at Terrigal Beach last Thursday evening to remember Audrey Griffin
Audrey Griffin (left)was a keen sportswoman pictured with and her mother Kathleen (right)
‘My heart goes out to Audrey’s family,’ she said.
‘I do feel let down by the police and the judge, on the first night of the AVO, the very first AVO, the police took four hours to come here to do a welfare check.
‘When he breached his AVO [that was taken out] to protect me, they took five months to find him.
‘I lived in fear he would carry out one of his threats.’
Audrey was a much-loved member of the Terrigal Sharks rugby league and local lifesaving 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.
Just weeks before her death, she had competed in the New Zealand half-ironman.
Audrey was also a former member of the Gosford Water Polo ladies team.
Tributes have been left in her memory at the spot where Audrey Griffin died
‘Audrey touched everyone, not just in her community but all over the country. She was the light in many of our lives,’ a family statement on a GoFundMe read.
‘There is no doubt she brought endless laughter and joy to everyone.
‘She was the kindest soul to walk this earth and will always be in our hearts.’
Ms Griffin was also a dedicated member of the Terrigal Wamberal Sharks rugby league club, having played junior and senior football.
‘With a larger-than-life personality, and happy-go-lucky nature, Audrey would hit with sting then check that they were OK, and then skip to each of the scrums,’ the club said in a social media tribute to her.
‘Audrey will be sorely missed by the Sharks family, may she rest in peace.’
Ms Griffin’s family said the 19-year-old ‘brought endless laughter and joy to everyone’. Pictured is Audrey visiting Japan
On Thursday evening, more than 1,000 people gathered on a NSW beach to honour Audrey just hours after her killer was found dead in his jail cell.
Her mother, Kathleen Kirby, shared a heartbreaking post hours before the crowd, dressed in white, flocked to Terrigal Beach on the Central Coast at dusk.
‘Let’s focus today on unity, remembrance, and the love we all share for Audrey,’ Ms Kirby said.
‘It’s about standing together, remembering her light, and showing — through our presence — that we want change, awareness, and a safer future for everyone.’
