A single mother whose life turned into a nightmare when her ex-boyfriend bombarded her with thousands of threatening text messages and stalked her relentlessly for months, opens up about the horrific experience.
Mother-of-three Tash Kramer thought she had found the love of her life after she started dating Gavin Porter in March last year while living in Benalla in north-east Victoria.
At first she wasn’t looking for a relationship with the Irishman, but the two hit it off until the relationship took a bad turn.
Ms Kramer alleges that after just three months of the romance, Porter became jealous and possessive and began abusing and threatening her.
She claimed that he also drove past her house and called her constantly.
“He got drunk and started calling me names,” Mrs. Kramer said A current case.
“They call me fat, they call me ugly, they tell me to commit suicide and the next day I can’t remember any of it.”
Fearing for her life and the safety of her children, Mrs. 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 took a temporary measure against Porter (pictured right) to prevent domestic violence.
‘Beg for forgiveness and then it was just a circle.’
‘I tried to end the relationship several times, but he wouldn’t let me. I was his property.’
Porter also sent Ms. Kramer threatening text messages during their relationship.
“I’m going to make your life hell,” read one of the messages.
Porter threatened to slit her throat in another attack.
Mrs Kramer claims their relationship quickly turned violent and recalls one specific incident.
‘He [allegedly] “He hit me on my hip and then choked me on the ground,” Kramer said.
Police eventually arrested Porter after the alleged threats and found 3,000 text messages.
Seven months into their relationship, police issued Porter a domestic violence restraining order.
Ms Kramer (pictured) claims Porter became jealous and possessive just three months into the relationship, before allegedly abusing and threatening her.
Ms Kramer claims Porter was angry about the court order because he feared he would lose his visa and be deported.
“The magistrate asked me if I agreed with the order to suspend the case for a year. I agreed,” Kramer said.
‘Not even a minute after I agreed to the order, my phone started ringing and Gavin threatened to come to my work.’
When the young mother was about to end her life, she drove to a nearby railway line, where she was eventually found by the police and taken back to the police station.
But the nightmare was not over yet.
One night, Porter came to her house and allegedly tapped on the window while she was sleeping.
The terrified Mrs. Kramer grabbed a kitchen knife, locked her children in the house and ran outside in a desperate attempt to keep Porter away from her children.
By the time police arrived, Porter was believed to have fled.
The torment finally came to an end when police captured Porter in November last year, shortly after he arrived in Melbourne on a flight from Western Australia.
40 minutes later he was arrested at a hotel.
Porter (pictured) was sentenced to two years in prison and is expected to be deported to Ireland after serving his sentence in late 2025.
The magistrate described the case as the worst domestic violence case he had ever dealt with in court.
Porter was sentenced to two years in prison and is expected to be deported back to Ireland in late 2025 after serving his sentence.
Mrs Kramer and her young family have now left Benalla.
She urged others in a similar situation not to be afraid to ask for help.
“I’ve resisted it for so long and made it so much harder for myself. They’re here to help,” Kramer said.