Brenda Hodge, born Dorothy Brenda White in Victoria in 1951, endured a tumultuous and abusive childhood. She was frequently subjected to physical abuse by her alcoholic mother and reportedly suffered sexual abuse from a babysitter starting at the age of four. Her early life was marked by instability, leading her to skip school and eventually leave home. 

Throughout her youth, Brenda moved between various jobs and locations across Australia, including Queensland, Darwin, and Western Australia. In 1972, she married David Hodge, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1977. By 1983, Brenda was working in Leonora, Western Australia, where she became involved with a police officer named Peter Rafferty.

In 1984, Brenda Hodge was in a relationship with Peter Rafferty. On the day of the murder, as Brenda was preparing to leave, an argument ensued between the two. According to Brenda, her memory of the incident is fragmented, but she recalls aiming a gun at Peter and firing. After the initial shot, Peter retreated to a shed, where Brenda followed and shot him twice more, resulting in his death. Following the murder, Brenda confessed her actions to a friend, who did not believe her. She later went to the Kalgoorlie police station and confessed to the crime. ​

In August 1984, Brenda was found guilty of willful murder and was sentenced to death by Justice Pidgeon, making her the last person in Australia to receive such a sentence. However, her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment after Western Australia abolished the death penalty later that year. While incarcerated, Brenda pursued education, learning to touch type and enrolling in courses in English and literature. She also undertook a TAFE trade apprenticeship in cooking. 

During her time in prison, she converted to Roman Catholicism. After numerous appeals, Brenda was paroled on October 20, 1995. In 2005, she published her autobiography, "WALK ON: The remarkable true story of the last person sentenced to death in Australia," detailing her life experiences, trial, and time in prison.