A Queensland grandmother told police her ex-partner warned she could be T-boned or shot by a sniper before the pair died in a house fire he started, a coroner has heard.
Doreen Langham told officers about the threat when interviewed by police weeks before the fatal house at her home in Logan, south of Brisbane in February last year.
Footage of the interview was played in an inquest in the Coroners Court sitting in Southport on Monday into the deaths of the 49-year-old and her ex-partner Gary Hely.
Ms Langham told two officers Mr Hely warned she should enjoy her life because she only had three weeks left and that she could be "T-boned, sniper shot or bashed".
Counsel assisting Ben Jackson told the inquest the threats Ms Langham said had been made by Mr Hely - her partner of about two years - would "send a chill along anyone's spine".
"He said she had three weeks to live," Mr Jackson added.
Ms Langham was initially reluctant to speak to officers, but was concerned after many months of Mr Hely's controlling and abusive behaviour.
Mr Jackson said Mr Hely was due to move out of Ms Langham's townhouse on that day, when she called PoliceLink knowing something had to be done
Ms Langham was advised not to return home, instead going to a friend's house where the two officers went to speak to her.
That discussion was representative of so many inadequacies in the police response to her plight, Mr Jackson said.
He told coroner Jane Bentley that not all police officers showed the same level of inadequacy.
"Some understood Ms Langham's concerns and the risks she faced and they did what they could to help," he added.
"Those positive actions weren't enough."
Mr Jackson said Ms Langham knew the danger and risks Mr Hely presented and did all she could to give police what they needed to bring him to account.
Ms Langham made her final request for help, calling triple zero to report a disturbance outside the townhouse in a gated community on Moyla Street, Browns Plains about 9pm on Sunday, February 21.
In the early hours of the following morning her body was found with Mr Hely's in the burnt-out wreckage of the house.
Mr Jackson said the evidence was clear Mr Hely had remained near Ms Langham's house, forcing his way inside with at least five litres of petrol.
"Hely ... had a plan and that plan actually came about," he said.
"Ms Langham perished in her own home and that was due to a fire that Hely started.
"One thing is clear: Ms Langham's last moments must have been filled with utter terror."
Officers, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, testified at the inquest with one saying he had responded to her suspicions Mr Hely was in the yard the night before the fire.
The outcome would stay with him for his career.
"I am very sorry for the events that did occur," he said.
The two officers who took Ms Langham's first complaint - but did not take out a police protection notice - said they had now changed their behaviour towards domestic violence complaints.
One, who had been required to complete a half-day face-to-face domestic violence training session since the deaths, broke down while giving evidence.
The other officer said he had been required to complete two online domestic violence training manuals in the last year.
The inquest would consider events leading up to the fire, the events of the morning when the pair died and what Queensland Police had done after the events.
The inquest is expected to continue until Friday.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
