Mock Trials

Please state your name, age and occupation to the court.

My name is Ava Reed. I am 28 years old and I work as a mining engineer, currently based in Newman, Western Australia.

Who is Xavier Thompson to you?

I was in a committed relationship with Xavier Thompson for over four years up until his death last year.

How did the two of you meet?

Xavier and I met at a party in January 2019 while studying our Masters.

What happened in your relationship around June 2019?

In June 2019 we moved into a share house together with friends where we shared the master bedroom Around that time we opened our first joint bank account together and used that account for our living expenses.

How would you describe what you had together at that point?,

We connected quickly over our love of adventure and shared dreams for the future. We backpacked together in Laos and talked about exploring Africa one day.

What happened after you both graduated?

We were lucky enough to get offered jobs at the same company, a prestigious gold mining company in the Democratic Republic of Congo. We both signed three year contracts to work there starting June 2023.

Why did you take those jobs?

The money was amazing, but the work was gruelling. The job was fly in, fly out (FIFO) with a rotation of 5 months on/1 month off. Luckily, our off-months were at the same time. The job came with free on site accommodation and meals which helped us save money towards our dream home.

What were the living arrangements like on site?,

When on site, Xavier had a shared donga in the men's quarters and I had my own donga in the women's quarters. The site was very strict and did not even allow married couples to share accommodation.

What was your relationship like on site?

The site was in a dangerous region and we were contractually required to remain within the fenced area monitored by private security. The only space where we could catch up was the communal dining room so we made a point of always eating our meals together. Date nights in high vis.

What did your 'off-months' look like?

The company paid for our flights to and from Perth and we usually spent our off-months flying back to Perth to catch up with friends and family. (How else did you spend that time?) Every now and again we spent our off-month travelling (e.g. we went to Japan for the snow in Feb 2024 and I went to New Zealand for a friend’s hens weekend in December 2024).

What was your financial situation like during that period?

Xavier and I each had our own bank accounts as well as joint accounts including one we nicknamed "travel funds" and one we called "dream house." Each pay we would each deposit $2,500 and any bonuses into the dream house account.

What was the dream house account for?,

We planned to use our savings to buy an established home back in Perth at the end of our contracts.

How did you and Mr Thompson envision your future together beyond the house?,

We had a shared dream of wanting a family home complete with two kids and a dog. We often sent each other links to potential family homes around Inglewood to be close to our parents for support when that time came.

Where would this most likely be?,

Well I grew up in Bedford and Xavier’s mum was in Mount Lawley

I would like to refer you to Document H in the trial bundle. Can you tell the court what that is?,

That is a text message exchange between Xavier and me on 2 and 4 October 2024. We were sending each other links to properties in Inglewood.

What did Xavier say at the end of that exchange?,

He said he could not wait until we had our own place together.

What were your plans for marriage?,

We talked about getting married one day but we did not need to get married to have a strong relationship. Some of our friends had wasted tens of thousands on weddings. The next step for us was always going to be the house and then a dog, we both love dogs and couldn’t wait to have our own.

Can you describe how the FIFO lifestyle influenced your relationship, if at all?,

Our relationship had its ups and downs especially after we started working FIFO. We underestimated how hard it would be.

What happened in 2025 in relation to Mr Thompson's family?,

In 2025 Xavier's father passed away unexpectedly. Xavier had struggled since then and wanted to terminate his contract early to return home to be closer to his mother and younger brother Nathan.

What was your reaction to that?,

I was shocked. I understood he wanted to be there for his family but if we stayed just a little bit longer we could each get a $100,000 bonus each for completing our contracts and be able to buy our own house and set up our future.

What happened in the days following that conversation?,

A few days later we returned to Perth for our off month. Xavier stayed at his old childhood house with his mother. I stayed with friends to give them space to grieve together.

How would you describe the status of your relationship at that point?,

Yes we had had a fight. It was an incredibly stressful time in his life. But we never broke up and were still very much together.

What happened after that off month?,

I returned to site. Xavier returned a week later. I did not get much of a chance to see him before he passed away unexpectedly on 15 July 2025 in a small plane crash on the way to site.

What was your response to his death?,

I was completely shattered. I tried to keep working but the grief was overwhelming. I left before the contract ended and lost my bonus.

How did you find your return to Australia?,

Horrible, I came back to discover that his mother had applied for a grant of probate of a will Xavier had made in 2018, before we had even met, and had not even acknowledged me as his de facto partner on his death certificate.

What was your reaction to this?,

I know his mother had never liked me but never thought she would deny me recognition and my legal entitlements as his de facto partner.

What do you say about the status of your relationship at the time Mr Thompson passed?,

We never broke up and were still very much together at the time of his death. We were, after all, life partners. And a fight at an incredibly stressful time, was never going to change that.