The killer of a nurse found dying on the floor of her apartment is still on the run – as her husband reveals he doesn’t want to leave the unit they shared in order to ‘stay close to her’.
Nicholas Gilbert, 38, returned home to his apartment in Merrylands, in western Sydney, at about 11.30pm on Easter Sunday on April 9 to find his wife Erin Gilbert, 42, choking on her own blood.
Mr Gilbert tried frantically to save her life before calling an ambulance, but she died before paramedics arrived.
He spent almost 24 hours in a police cell covered in his wife’s blood and was told he was potentially facing charges over her murder, but was released and continues to insist he had absolutely no involvement in her death.
A spokesperson from NSW Police said on Monday the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made – a situation Mr Gilbert told Daily Mail Australia is so stressful that ‘I’m losing my mind’.
Two months on from the tragedy, he is still living in the apartment where she died and fears he will get evicted because was involved in a serious car accident a few years ago, sustained a brain injury, and is unable to work enough to pay rent.
The blood stains on the carpet of their home makes him break down whenever he looks at them, Mr Gilbert said.
Nicholas and Erin Gilbert got married in 2020 (pictured). She was murdered in April this year
Nicholas Gilbert (pictured with his wife, Erin Gilbert) said he’s about to get evicted from the home they shared together
‘I’ll be on the street in the next few days, but it’s hard enough to stay there because of the (marks) in the carpet – I tear up every time I see them,’ he said.
‘But then again, it’s the only place I feel close to Erin.’
Mr Gilbert said he realised he wanted to spent his life with her a few years ago when he was hit by a car doing 80km/h, rolled three times and broke his neck, cheek, jaw, nose, teeth, shoulder, eight ribs, his hip, leg, and toes, and sustained a brain injury.
‘I’m actually lucky to be alive,’ he said.
He explained that Ms Gilbert, who was a registered nurse, lost her job because she was looking after him at home.
‘That’s when I got down on one knee with my walking stick and my neck brace and proposed,’ he said.
They married in 2020 and, on their first wedding anniversary, she made him a box filled with photos and love letters.
One letter read: ‘I don’t want you in my life, I need you in my life. You’re not my friend, you’re my best friend. I don’t like you, I love you and I’m glad I found you because I was absolutely lost without you.’
Another read: ‘Because of you all of my other dreams gave changed, now everything I’ve ever wanted will be only complete [because] you’re the one by my side.’
Ms Gilbert made her husband a photo book for their first wedding anniversary (pictured)
Ms Gilbert wrote a series of love letters for her husband for their first wedding anniversary (pictured)
A third letter said: ‘I am the luckiest girl alive. To be able to call you my husband and me your wife. I love you, Boo.’
Mr Gilbert said he got goosebumps when he found the letters again.
‘It gave me happy tears and I still smile just thinking about it,’ he said.
In April, it was revealed that Mr Gilbert lost his keys on the night his wife died – he tried knocking on the door but no one answered, so he used the bin to climb onto their first floor balcony.
He went inside to find the aged care nurse lying on a mattress in their bedroom ‘choking on her own blood’.
According to police, the 42-year-old had suffered ‘severe’ stab wounds to the head with an unknown sharp object.
Police rifled through garbage, inspecting vehicles and inside drains to find clues.
In a statement to Daily Mail Australia on Monday, a police spokesperson said: ‘Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad – assisted by detectives from Cumberland Police Area Command and the South West Metropolitan Region – are continuing to investigate the murder of Erin Gilbert under Strike Force Trevelyan.
‘Anyone who may have information which could assist strike force investigators is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.’
Ms Gilbert’s body was discovered in a pool of blood inside a unit block (forensic police pictured)
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk