Daughter relives horror of escaping violent father who killed two women

The daughter of a man who killed two women in their home earlier this year has relived the terrifying game of cat and mouse her family played trying to escape their violent father. Ariel Bombara shared her story in a powerful speech to launch a campaign against family and domestic violence in Perth on Monday. Her father Mark Bombara killed Jennifer Petelczyc and her 18-year-old daughter Gretl in their Floreat home in May when he turned up looking for his wife who had fled the family home weeks earlier. Ms Bombara said moments before her father killed Jennifer and Gretl, “first glimpse of light” she had shared with her mother the “first glimpse of light” after moving into a new rental home. She said for the previous two months they had moved several times, dragging their belongings around in suitcases and garbage bags trying to make it through each day. “We were giddy and excited as we unpacked the same clothes we’ve been wearing for eight weeks, this time with the knowledge we finally had a home again and could start to rebuild our lives,” she said. While they were unpacking their belongings, Ms Bombara’s mum received a call from her best friend Jenny and all they could hear was Jenny telling her 18-year-old daughter to hide. “My father had turned up looking for mum, and he didn’t believe her when she said mum wasn’t there so he forced his way into their home,” she said. “We heard Jenny say, ‘Mark, put the gun away,’ and I remember the ice cold shot of adrenaline and the sound that escaped my mouth akin to that of someone who’s been kicked in the gut. “It was the knowledge that after eight weeks of meticulous safety planning, eight weeks of predicting and staying ahead of his behaviour in the most terrifying game of cat and mouse.” Ms Bombara said her father was about to do everything she thought he would to her family, to somebody else. “Those were the last words I heard Jenny say, as I frantically called triple-0 while mum continued to listen to what was going on in Jenny’s house,” she said. “While speaking to the police, I heard mum scream and then she was wailing. “The last thing mum heard was two gunshots before the phone went dead. “My father murdered Jenny and Gretl, while Jenny’s other daughter Liesl and her boyfriend Blair were down the road at the shops. “They returned after Gretl texted Liesl to call the police and heard my father’s final gunshot as he ended his life.” Ms Bombara said for the rest of her life she would question every decision she made from convincing her mum to leave because it was not safe wondering what more she could have done to stop her dad. “I was too good at hiding from him and hating myself for never considering that he would kill other people if he couldn’t find us,” she said. “It’s a heavy burden women carry, blaming themselves for men’s violence, an utterly unfair, twisted weight we feel because the system doesn’t protect us and puts the onus on women to manage men’s behaviour rather than holding perpetrators accountable.” Ms Bombara said her father was a dictator who constantly used coercive and controlling behaviours at home. “He was a master manipulator who would twist (mum’s) words and gaslight her until she couldn’t trust her own mind,” she said. “It was the persistent gut wrenching dread waiting for when and how he was going to shame you that had everyone walking on eggshells, constantly on edge and exhausted from playing his mind games. “He was overtly sexist, racist and homophobic to anyone who didn’t look like him. “He thought women were less than dog sh.t, and he made it clear in front of his daughters, he’d break your possessions and drive dangerously to scare you.” Ms Bombara said she fought for eight weeks against every person who tried to convince them they were overreacting. “The police who dismissed us, the people who said, ‘Oh but he doesn’t rape you or hit you, so it can’t be that bad,’ she said. “All I can ask is, do you believe me now?” Domestic violence helplines