A well-known Brisbane anaesthetist sent a distressing email to a colleague prior to her and her eight-year-old daughter being found deceased in a luxurious Airbnb property.
The bodies of 54-year-old Dr. Tiffany Wilkes and her daughter were discovered at an upscale rental house on Tinarra Crescent in Kenmore Hills, a wealthy Brisbane suburb, on Monday afternoon.
Police are treating the deaths as a suspected murder-suicide.
Emergency services encountered the tragic scene merely hours after a colleague received a pre-scheduled email from Dr. Wilkes explaining her intentions, leading them to alert the police and request a welfare check.
The harrowing details emerged as a neighbour recalled his conversations with Dr Wilkes.
It’s understood she rented the Airbnb for a school holiday staycation with her young daughter, located 20km from her Norman Park home.
A Norman Park neighbour told the Courier Mail that Dr Wilkes had been undertaking renovations on the home, which had been vacant for two years.
‘We find it unusual because it’s quite a new build. She did that and then just disappeared,’ the man told the publication.
Police found the bodies of Dr Tiffany Wilkes and her eight-year-old daughter at an Airbnb after a concerned colleague requested a welfare check
CCTV captured Dr. Wilkes taking out the trash at the rented Airbnb on Sunday. Police later discovered the bodies of her and her young daughter at the location.
He recalled Dr Wilkes also speaking fondly of how bright and clever her daughter was.
Dr Wilkes also told the neighbour about her plans to move to Boston in the US to provide better opportunities for her daughter.
‘We found that a little bit surprising considering her daughter was only six at the time,’ the neighbour said.
He was shocked to learn of what had happened to Dr Wilkes and her daughter.
‘Meeting someone just once or twice makes it sad, and having met a little child and learning about their fate, it’s truly horrific to contemplate,’ he shared.
CCTV footage at the Kenmore Hills Airbnb acquired by Seven News showed Dr. Wilkes calmly disposing of rubbish on Sunday afternoon, less than 24 hours before the police made the tragic discovery.
The owners of the home, a local family, said they were ‘deeply saddened by the circumstances’ and declined to comment further.
The Airbnb listing was removed on Tuesday morning, while the Stayz page was marked unavailable later that day.
Dr Tiffany Wilkes was found dead with her daughter in a luxury Airbnb rental on Monday
Dr Wilkes worked as an anaesthetist and was also a keen hiker
Dr Wilkes was a highly regarded specialist who worked across major hospitals including Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra.
She was also listed as an anaesthetist and pain management expert at the private Wesley Hospital in Auchenflower, where she was described as specialising ‘in hepato-biliary and liver transplant anaesthesia as well as neuro-anaesthesia’.
According to her Wesley profile, Dr Wilkes graduated from the University of Queensland in 2000 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. The page has since been removed.
Dr Wilkes was also a keen hiker and, back in 2014, she participated in the Outback to Icecap trek from Australia to Antarctica as a youth mentor.
‘We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected,’ a spokesperson for Queensland’s Metro South Health district said.
The pair had checked into the lavish single-level home on Tinarra Crescent, a property commanding around $1,000-a-night on Airbnb and boasting sweeping views across the 10,117sqm block.
The home, built in 1994, was also advertised on Stayz for $600-a-night and required a five-night minimum stay.
Online, it was described as a ‘private retreat’ offering peace and seclusion.
Back in 2014 Dr Wilkes participated in the Outback to Icecap trek from Australia to Antarctica
The mother and daughter were staying at a $1000-a-night Airbnb in Kenmore Hills (pictured)
The property remained a crime scene on Tuesday
Wilkes is understood to have booked the stay months in advance.
On Tuesday, the property remained a crime scene as detectives combed the grounds.
‘The only word that comes to mind is distressing, distressing for everyone, including the first responders who had to see something that,’ Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said
‘No one should ever have to and it’s a distressing time.’
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