Who killed Erin? Husband’s plea for answers following wife’s murder
Nic Gilbert is distraught and on edge after his wife Erin was brutally murdered inside their home.
Her killer remains on the loose as police put everything under the microscope, including Nic’s alibi.
“I’m trying to talk to her. I’m going, ‘Erin please don’t leave me’. (I) felt like I already knew she was gone, but I didn’t want her to go,” Gilbert said.
“What happened when you got back to the police station?” I asked.
“He comes in and he says, ‘Nicholas Gilbert, I’m placing you under arrest for the murder of Erin Gilbert’. My whole f—— world stopped. I just collapsed,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said he struggles being in his unit in Sydney’s west.
His wife Erin was murdered in the Merrylands unit just days ago, while Gilbert said he was out with friends.
“I was around at a mate’s house. (I) feel like I took too long getting home,” Gilbert said.
“Got downstairs to the buzzers. (I was) buzzing, buzzing, buzzing. (There was) no answer.
“I went around the back and threw my ring through the window to try and make a noise and get her attention – nothing.
“Then I came into the bedroom and saw her lying on her back.”
Erin had stab wounds to her throat, head and hands.
“She had some sort of scalping here and her hands, she had defensive wounds,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said he tried to save her.
“(I) tried pinching her nose and blew into her mouth but I was hysterical,” Gilbert said.
“The more I blew in, nothing was happening. I couldn’t feel any heartbeat and her hands felt cold to me.”
“The emergency services arrived, they’ve obviously taken over, what’s happened with police at that point?” I asked.
“The police officer goes, ‘Step away from her mate’. He goes, ‘Step away from her’,” Gilbert said.
“He goes, ‘Mate, step away from her, step away from her’.”
“And they took you into custody that night?” I asked.
“They put paper bags on my hands and taped them up. I was sitting in the back of the paddy wagon feeling like a bloody chicken on Thanksgiving,” he said.
Police initially placed Gilbert under arrest for the murder of his wife and kept him in custody for almost 24 hours before he was released without charge.
“Did you kill Erin?” I asked.
“No. No way,” he said.
“I loved Erin with all my heart.
“I’ll never lay a f—— finger on her. I never did. I never hurt Erin.”
“Do you know who killed Erin? I asked.
“No. I’ve got no idea,” he said.
“(It) scares the shit out of me. Erin trusted the police and so I’m doing my best to just trust that the truth’s going to come out.
“Every now and then it gets too much and I’m like, ‘I’m going to end up in jail for something that I didn’t do. This is f—— ridiculous’. But nup.”
“Why do you think someone would do this?” I asked.
“I kept thinking, maybe have I done something? Does someone hate me?” he said.
“I know you and Erin both have struggled with drugs. Were you on drugs the night she died?” I asked.
“I came home with a little bit of drugs for me and Erin that night,” he said.
“Did either of you owe money to anyone?” I asked.
“Nope. If we ever did, if we ever had debts with mates, we never let it go above 100 bucks and it would be with one person,” he said.
Police are reviewing security footage of an e-bike rider fleeing the scene, in the hunt to find Erin’s killer.
“What do you think about that CCTV?” I asked.
“It’s a f—— joke. I know how good the technology is these days. They could get (a) much better … picture out there surely,” he said.
Gilbert was also travelling on an e-bike that night.
“F—— hope I didn’t ride past them,” he said.
Gilbert is honest about his past, but maintains he doesn’t know who killed his wife.
“Have you given the police a list of people that you think might have done it?” I asked.
“Yeah. Anyone wants to call me a dog go for it. I’ll wag a tail if you want me to. I don’t even care. It’s my wife and it’s murder,” he said.
“What is your criminal history?” I asked.
“My criminal history is extensive,” he said.
“Have you ever hurt anyone?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he said.
“Do you think someone might have done this to hurt you?” I asked.
“They have to have. Everyone knows the only way you’re going to hurt me is by touching, taking Erin,” Gilbert said.
“If anyone has any information what would you say to them,” I said.
“Please for Erin’s parents’ sake. I know what I’m feeling … I’d move heaven and earth to give them closure right now,” he said.
