Backpacking horror stories: British woman held captive in Australia by weird clingy ex
- 7 years ago
MITCHELL, AUSTRALIA — A 22-year-old British backpacker was allegedly beaten and raped by her Australian ex-boyfriend as she was held captive for more than two months on a road trip from hell.
The woman from Liverpool met the suspect, also aged 22, in January at a “bush doof,” an outdoor dance party near the northeastern city of Cairns, the Telegraph reported.
They became romantically involved, but friends of the victim said the man was a clingy boyfriend who latched on to the first single woman who crossed his path. Just one week after they’d met, the alleged attacker changed his Facebook status to “married.”
Sadly, that big red flag was a sign of more sinister events to come, as the couple set off on a road trip in a white Mitsubishi four-wheel drive.
For two months, the victim was reportedly brutalized on a hellish thousand-mile journey through the Australian Outback.
Salvation finally came on Sunday, when the woman visited a gas station in the Queensland town of Mitchell.
Showing visible signs of having been attacked, the woman left the gas station without paying. The gas station attendant said the victim seemed in a state of shock and had explained that she couldn’t afford to pay.
The attendant called the cops, who pulled the white Mitsubishi over shortly afterward. Police found the alleged attacker hiding in a secret compartment in the back of the vehicle.
He has been charged with four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, two counts of deprivation of liberty, and possession of drugs.
The woman from Liverpool met the suspect, also aged 22, in January at a “bush doof,” an outdoor dance party near the northeastern city of Cairns, the Telegraph reported.
They became romantically involved, but friends of the victim said the man was a clingy boyfriend who latched on to the first single woman who crossed his path. Just one week after they’d met, the alleged attacker changed his Facebook status to “married.”
Sadly, that big red flag was a sign of more sinister events to come, as the couple set off on a road trip in a white Mitsubishi four-wheel drive.
For two months, the victim was reportedly brutalized on a hellish thousand-mile journey through the Australian Outback.
Salvation finally came on Sunday, when the woman visited a gas station in the Queensland town of Mitchell.
Showing visible signs of having been attacked, the woman left the gas station without paying. The gas station attendant said the victim seemed in a state of shock and had explained that she couldn’t afford to pay.
The attendant called the cops, who pulled the white Mitsubishi over shortly afterward. Police found the alleged attacker hiding in a secret compartment in the back of the vehicle.
He has been charged with four counts of rape, eight counts of assault, four counts of strangulation, two counts of deprivation of liberty, and possession of drugs.