A nurse who was stabbed multiple times in the head, killing her, “wanted a baby above all else” and was about to begin her third round of IVF before she passed away.
Nicholas, the 38-year-old husband of Erin Gilbert, came home to their Merrylands unit in western Sydney around 11:30 pm on Easter Sunday to find his wife sprawled on the living room floor, choking on her own blood.
He frantically tried to save her life, but it was too late. The 42-year-old died before emergency services arrived.
Mr. Gilbert has since told reporters that he felt he should have been there when the mystery killer entered their apartment and stabbed her to death with an unknown sharp object.
Daily Mail Australia can now reveal that the couple, who married in 2020, were desperately trying to have a baby.
Shane Niquet, Ms. Gilbert’s childhood best friend, said she had recently given up smoking to improve her chances of pregnancy.
Erin Gilbert and Shane Niquet (pictured together at a foam party) met when they were 12 years old, in Year 7
Mrs. Gilbert and Mr. Niquet (pictured together) were best friends and spoke almost every day
“Erin had so many plans for her future,” Mr Niquet told Daily Mail Australia.
“She just quit smoking so she could start IVF again — she wanted a baby more than anything.”
Mr Niquet said he and Ms Gilbert had been ‘inseparable’ since they met in Year 7.
He remembered her as a “strong-willed person” who always had a smile on her face and “tried to find the good” in everyone.
“I don’t know how I’ll manage without her. I talked to her all the time. I will miss her terribly,” he said.
Mr Niquet also explained that Mrs Gilbert was a qualified nurse and pathologist, but had a part-time job when she died.
Court documents revealed that the Gilberts were struggling financially and had legal battles with two landlords over unpaid rent.
Two court orders from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal direct the Gilberts to pay more than $8,850 in back rent to their landlords.
In October, the couple were evicted from their home on Victoria Road in Parramatta after breaching their lease by failing to pay more than $7,780 in rent.
Just a few months later, the Gilberts were ordered to pay back rent of more than $1060 on their current Merrylands home.
Erin Gilbert and her husband Nic (pictured) got married in 2020. He tried to save her life on Sunday
Nic Gilbert (pictured) came home Sunday night to find his wife choking on her own blood
Ms. Gilbert was found dead in that apartment just days after the court order was issued.
She and her husband were on the verge of being evicted from their home in July if they failed to pay back their rent.
Mr Gilbert collapsed on Wednesday when he told Nine News that his wife was his ‘better half’ and his ‘world’.
“She just completed me, I miss everything about her,” he said.
He came home to their unit late Sunday night and kept ringing the doorbell, but his wife didn’t answer so he decided she was probably asleep.
He then went around the back and tried to throw a rock at the window to get her attention, but eventually got in by climbing onto a wheelie bin and hoisting himself over the balcony.
“I walked across the bedroom, Erin was on her back and it looked like she was choking on blood,” he said.
“I jumped in, grabbed her arm, and tried to resuscitate her.”
Mr Gilbert said he took out his phone, pressed the call button and spoke to the first person whose name came up.
“I just said ‘Erin is dead, help me, Erin is dead,'” he recalls.
Mr. Gilbert assisted police with their investigation on Sunday night and has been released without charge.
Ms. Gilbert’s body was discovered face down in a pool of blood in a unit block (forensic police pictured)
Clearly there is CCTV to back up his alibi. Mr. Gilbert said he has no idea who attacked her.
Police remain baffled by Ms. Gilbert’s mysterious death and have appealed to the public to help find her killer.
When asked what he would do if confronted with his wife’s killer, Mr. Gilbert fought back tears as he instead replied with what Mrs. Gilbert would like.
“I’d love to get my hands on you (the killer) myself, but Erin would want the police to catch you,” he said.
Detectives have launched Strike Force Trevelyan to get to the bottom of what happened in Ms Gilbert’s final hours at her home on Sunday night.
“We definitely think something happened on Sunday night … when the police arrived, she hadn’t long died,” Cumberland Police Superintendent Andrew Holland told reporters on Tuesday.
“Erin was home that night in her apartment building…we know neighbors heard her in the apartment building, she spoke that night.
“We’re just concerned that someone else has been on the block with her.
“We need to know what happened, who was there.”
Police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.