00:00Decades ago, Triona Glare's mother, Alison Seeley, was murdered in her Warrnambool home
00:08in southwest Victoria.
00:14Alison was found dead in bed on August 1, 2003, after a concerned friend went to check
00:20on her.
00:21Alison is survived by her daughter, Triona, who was adopted by another family as a child,
00:27but spent time with her mother each summer in Port Ferry.
00:35Triona is now aged in her mid-thirties, the same age as when her mother's life was tragically
00:41taken from her.
00:42To this day, Alison's killer has never been found.
00:46Our investigation, Answers for Alison, is delving into the cold case in the hope of
00:51finding justice for her family.
00:54This week, Triona spoke to The Standard about her mother's death.
00:58It's the first time she has spoken to media about the tragedy.
01:07Most people have a phone call that they receive that they will never forget, a phone call
01:12that will change their life forever.
01:15Sadly for Triona Glare, that was a phone call she received that told her about her mother's
01:20death.
01:22When Alison Celia was bludgeoned to death in her Warrnambool home on July 31, 2003,
01:28she left behind a 16-year-old daughter.
01:32This week, she spoke to The Standard about her mother's death.
01:40My adopted mum got a phone call from my poppy, Alison's father.
01:45She then had to tell me.
01:47I still to this day remember exactly where I was when I got the news, and the horror
01:52of it.
01:53Triona told us that she was incredibly lucky because she had an incredibly supportive adoptive
01:59family.
02:01My adoptive parents are the most amazing people, and made sure we all visited with our birth
02:06family.
02:07We used to holiday in Port Ferry every year to visit my birth family, and Alison used
02:11to come to Ballarat regularly to see me throughout the years, particularly when I was younger.
02:17Being 16 when she died, I felt a lot of guilt for not making more of an effort to get to
02:21know her.
02:22Anger that she was taken from my life, and overwhelming sadness.
02:28Her death felt like my ties to my birth family had been cut, and I felt lost.
02:34In the years following Alison's death, Triona said she heard rumours, but over time, the
02:42subject was rarely spoken about.
02:45There has always been rumours and talk surrounding her death, whether that be from family, media,
02:51or the general public.
02:53Being removed from the direct family by adoption, and physically living far away from everyone,
02:59there wasn't a lot said to me about it, and it became too touchy of a subject to bring
03:03up with family.
03:05One good memory that Triona has after her mother's death was when she went to the unveiling
03:11of a plaque at Alison's former workplace, Nigretta in Hamilton.
03:17It's a plaque outside her old workplace, in a beautiful garden.
03:21It was great to meet the people who knew her and loved her that weren't family, people
03:26who spent time with her and would mourn her as we all do.
03:30It's amazing to think she made such an impact just by being herself, and that people will
03:35remember her.
03:38Triona told us that over the years she'd followed the updates that there were into
03:43her mother's case.
03:44There haven't been many more leads, but I'm always hoping for more information.
03:52She said though she would never give up hope that her mother's killer would be found.
03:58I don't think there is ever any justice when you take away someone's life, and forever
04:03alter everyone's lives around her, but of course I'm always hoping that he will be
04:08caught and serve time for what he did.
04:11I wish my poppy, Alison's dad, could have received the closure he needed for his daughter
04:15before he sadly passed away, but I know that there are other family and myself that always
04:21hope we will receive some form of closure.
04:24It hurts knowing that someone out there took her life and got away with it, that we may
04:28never get those answers.
04:30I think everyone who goes through trauma like this, the best they can hope for is answers
04:35as to what happened to their loved ones.
04:37It'll never bring her back, but the unanswered questions still haunt me.
04:41Triona has her own children, and she's devastated they will never meet her mother.
04:47There is so much sadness and guilt that I cannot give them any information about their
04:51heritage, about my own family.
04:54I would have loved her to meet them.
04:56She would have loved them like I do.
04:59Triona told us that she had regretted not spending more time with her mum when she was alive.
05:06It's one of my biggest regrets in my life, that I never got to know her.
05:11I've found the older I get, the more it's affected me, becoming a mother myself and
05:16not being able to know my own mother.
05:19Not knowing my history or life and all the things that you should know about your mother
05:24that no one can tell you, but you.
05:27Being adopted comes with its own set of challenges for many children, especially those that never
05:33got the chance to meet their parents.
05:36As lucky as I am to have met them, I wish I had more time, and that she had gotten the
05:41chance to know me.
05:48Thank you for listening.
05:49That was Answers for Allison.
05:52Make sure you're subscribed to The Vulnerable Standard to keep up to date with the investigation.
05:57The Standard is available online or through our newsletters and app.
06:01If you have information about the case, please email answersforallison at gmail.com.
06:07That's Allison with two L's.
06:10A-L-L-I-S-O-N.
06:14Thank you again for listening, and we'll see you in the next episode.
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