‘He’s going to kill us all,’ said woman who found help after escaping alleged ordeal at isolated campsite in national park

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Two female backpackers were allegedly kidnapped and sexually assaulted by an Australian man in an isolated region of South Australia, who is now facing charges including attempted murder.

The women, who were visiting from overseas, had met their alleged attacker in a rural area more than 100km from Adelaide. The man drove them to a campsite at Salt Creek in Coorong national park, where he allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and attempted to kill the women.

Police were called after one of the women escaped her alleged attacker and found a group of fishermen camping on a nearby beach. One of the fishermen told the Adelaide Advertiser the woman ran towards him, screaming: “He’s going to kill us all.”

A 59-year-old South Australian man has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and unlawful sexual intercourse with the two women. The man did not apply for bail and was taken into custody on Thursday.

At a media conference on Thursday, South Australian police superintendent James Blandford said the women were found in a “dire” situation.

“Given the nature of the charges, their situation was obviously very dire and they were somewhat distressed,” he said. “One of the victims was able to run away and came across some people who were fishing in the area,” he said.

“They were able to comfort and secure her and make a call to the police.”

The second woman was later found by rescuers in the sand dunes. The woman had sustained serious injuries.

One of the fishermen, Abdul-Karim Mohammed, said the scene was confronting, with the woman screaming, crying and yelling.

“First of all she just started waving,” he told Seven News. “She looked at us. She didn’t know what was going on. She ran straight to the car yelling. She opened the back door, jumped straight in and like ‘Get me out of here, get me out of here. He’s going to kill us all.’

“First of all she had no clothes on so we just straight away gave her our jacket.

“She had some scratches and that on the legs. Look liked she’d been pulled around, dragged around and that.”

Camper Josh Harris saw the woman, who was possibly hit with a hammer, as her rescuers brought her to a roadhouse at Salt Creek.

“At first I thought it was mud on her face. As she walked, supported by people, blood was all over her,” he said.

“The guys who dropped her off were in shock. She’d said her attacker was going to kill her.”

Harris said the second woman caught up in the attack seemed “okay physically”.

“She was holding a pillow to her head but was running around saying ‘where is she? I need to see her. She saved my life’.

“It was horrific. It was like something from a movie. It was Storm Boy turned into Wolf Creek.”

The women, aged in their 20s, were hospitalised. By Thursday, one had been discharged with the second still under observation in a stable condition after suffering serious injuries.

The attack has shocked locals in the popular tourist destination.

“Something like that, you wouldn’t expect it to happen on your front door. It’s a beautiful area,” Coorongdunes Holiday Accommodation owner Mandell Tiver said.

A police statement issued on Wednesday said: “At 6.30pm on Tuesday 9 February, police were called to the Coorong national park after reports of an assault. Two women were transported to the Flinders medical centre with serious injuries. Both remain at the hospital in a stable condition.”

“The 59-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder and kidnapping.”

“Murray Bridge CIB [Criminal Investigation Branch] are investigating and Major Crime Investigation Branch detectives are assisting.”

The court suppressed the man’s name and police have not revealed the women’s nationalities to protect their identities.

The man will face court again in April.

Police have also established a task force to investigate the attack including whether the man was linked to other crimes.





