Woman Dies After Fleeing Alleged Domestic Violence Incident

Claire Austin died after running through a glass door while trying to escape an alleged domestic violence incident in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Claire Austin, 38, suffered a severe arm laceration after attempting to force her way through a sliding door at her Randwick apartment on Saturday morning, severing an artery.

She died in St Vincent’s Hospital on Tuesday after spending three days in critical condition.

NSW Police believe Austin was trying to flee a violent encounter when she was injured. Authorities were called to the scene on Perouse Road about 7:40 am following reports of a loud argument from a neighbour.

Austin is the 19th Australian woman killed this year and the 122nd woman killed since January 1, 2024. She is the third woman killed in 12 hours. The two other women were Louise Hunt, who was murdered in Geham and Kim Duncan, murdered in Ambarvale.

Originally from the UK, Austin has worked as a senior event producer at Sydney creative agency, The Misfits, since March. Prior to joining the Misfits, Claire worked as an account director at The Do Collective.

The Do Collective agency’s founder, Ben Walker, paid tribute to Claire. 

“Claire was a beautiful human in every sense of the word. With kindness in her heart and a generous spirit, she had a warmth that we all gravitated to. Her compassion for others was evident in the way she worked and lived,” Walker said to B&T. 

Sherele Moody is an award-winning Australian journalist and femicide researcher, renowned for her extensive work in documenting and raising awareness about gender-based violence. She believes that “male violence is a man’s problem to solve. It’s not a woman’s problem to solve”. 

Strike Force Lyndoch has been established to investigate the circumstances of her death, which is being treated as suspicious. Several police and ambulance vehicles attended the scene, and a crime scene was set up as forensic teams combed the unit.

A 44-year-old man known to Austin was taken into custody at Maroubra police station for questioning. He was later released without charge, and police say inquiries remain ongoing.

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have yet to comment on Austin’s death along with the other gender-based domestic violence deaths in the past year. 

“We have a lot of areas to rectify and that is everything from policing to courts to perpetrator programs to housing equality,” Moody said. “It can’t be done with a small funding commitment, and it can’t be done with promises. It needs real action.” 

Grim pattern of gender-based domestic violence

Moody makes it a point to differentiate male violence and domestic violence. “It’s not domestic violence. It’s male violence. We had no significant number of the deaths of domestic violence related, but the biggest factor is male violence,” Moody said. 

Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

Austin’s death contributes to the rising number of women lost to gender-based violence in Australia this year. Advocates continue to call for stronger action to address what they describe as a national crisis.

“Last year, we lost 103 women to predominantly male violence,” Moody said. “Now, 60% of the deaths that I’ve documented just in the last 15 and a half months are domestic and family violence related 30% what I call associate violence.”

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the following: 

• National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)

• Beyond Blue 1300 224 636

• Lifeline 131 114

• Womens crisis line 1800 811 811 

• 13YARN 13 92 76

• Rainbow Helpline 1800 497 212
• Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491