A single mother whose life turned into a nightmare when her ex-boyfriend bombarded her with thousands of threatening text messages and relentlessly harassed her for months has opened up about the harrowing experience.
Mother-of-three Tash Kramer thought she had found the love of her life after striking up a relationship with Gavin Porter while living in Benalla, north-east Victoria, in March last year.
She wasn’t initially looking for a relationship with the Irishman, but the pair “hit it off” before things took an ugly turn.
Ms Kramer claims that just three months into the affair, Porter became jealous and possessive and began abusing and threatening her.
She claimed that he also stopped by her house and called non-stop.
“He would get drunk and start cursing me,” Kramer said. A current issue.
‘They call me fat, they call me ugly, they tell me to kill myself and then I have no memories the next day.’
Fearing for her life and the safety of her children, Ms. Kramer claimed she would comply with Porter’s alleged demands to meet him at certain locations.
Seven months after the couple (pictured) began dating, police issued a provisional family violence intervention order against Porter (pictured right).
‘I apologized and then it was just a cycle.’
‘I tried many times to end the relationship, but he didn’t want to, I was a possession for him.’
Porter also sent threatening text messages to Kramer during their relationship.
“I’m going to make your life hell,” one message read.
Porter threatened to slit his throat in another.
Ms Kramer claims their relationship soon turned violent and recalled one incident in particular.
“He allegedly punched me in the hip and then choked me on the ground,” Kramer said.
Police eventually arrested Porter following the alleged threats and discovered 3,000 text messages.
Seven months into the relationship, police issued a domestic violence intervention order against Porter.
Ms Kramer (pictured) claims that just three months into the relationship, Porter became jealous and possessive before allegedly beginning to abuse and threaten her.
Ms Kramer claims Porter was angry about the court order amid fears of losing his visa and being deported.
“The judge asked me if I agreed to the order to remain in prison for a year and I agreed,” Kramer said.
‘A minute after I accepted the order, my phone started ringing and Gavin was threatening to come to my work.’
On the verge of collapse, the young mother contemplated taking her own life and drove to the nearby train tracks, where police eventually found her and took her back to the police station.
But the nightmare was not over yet.
One night, Porter came home and allegedly banged on her window while she was sleeping.
A terrified Mrs Kramer grabbed a kitchen knife, locked her children inside the house and ran outside in a desperate attempt to keep Porter away from her children.
By the time police arrived, Porter had reportedly fled the scene.
The torment finally ended last November when police caught up with Porter shortly after he arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Western Australia.
He was arrested at a hotel 40 minutes later.
Porter (pictured) was sentenced to two years in prison and will be deported to Ireland after serving his sentence, likely in late 2025.
The judge described the matter as the worst case of domestic violence he had ever heard in court.
Porter was sentenced to two years in prison and is expected to be deported to Ireland in late 2025 after serving his sentence.
Mrs Kramer and her young family have since left Benalla.
She urged others facing a similar situation not to be afraid to ask for help.
“I resisted for a long time and made things a lot harder for myself, they are there to help me,” Kramer said.