The QUIETEST KILLER

After 25 years of marriage, Michele Lord told police she thought her husband was drugging her. A week later she was dead. Her family tells Genevieve Gannon about the insidious threat of coercive abuse.

- Genevieve Gannon

Big-hearted Gold Coast woman Michele Lord had always revelled in her family nickname, The Blonde. The moniker perfectly suited the persona of the sunny aunty, sister, and daughter who loved to make an entrance in eye-catching outfits. “If it was fancy dress, she’d be the fanciest,” recalls her mother, Audrey. But ‘The Blonde’ meant more than that to Michele. “It’s a nickname our father gave her, and we lost him at a young age so I think that’s something she cherished,” her sister, Lee-Anne McKay, says. The name was an affectionate term from Michele’s happy childhood and a reminder of her place in her loving family.

Over the years, however, The Blonde moderated her sunny personality to fit within the boundaries set by her controlling husband, Edward Lord. Her once vibrant social life became limited to family functions, and when she did go out for an afternoon she always made sure she was home in time to cook Ed his steak, which he ate with raw vegetables. The family believed Michele when she assured them everything was fine, and for a long time, it seemed as if she had everything she’d ever wanted. Her two-story home had a pool, which she loved to float in, and her wardrobe was full of the colorful dresses that gave her so much joy.

“All her life, her dream was to have the same lifestyle she’d had growing up, even though hers was a bit more flamboyant,” Audrey says. “She just wanted to settle down, have a family or a child, and a nice home with some nice things in it, and she was prepared to work for it.”