Backpacker describes horrific ordeal in which kidnapper beat her until her face was purple
A British backpacker who was kidnapped and raped in Queensland has told of the horrifying abuse she suffered at the hands of a drug-crazed gunman.
Elisha Greer, 24, was held captive for days by a violent Marcus Martin, who she said beat her and held a gun to her head.
She required hospital treatment for injuries including facial fractures after eventually being found by police near Mitchell, 400km west of Brisbane, in March 2017.
In an interview with the Seven Network, Ms Greer said she had met Martin at a party in Cairns in the January of that year.
"He just seemed like a nice guy," she told the Sunday Night program.
After the pair exchanged numbers, Martin moved into Ms Greer's hotel and began asking her for money. He then obtained a gun for “protection” and took her along with him to rob a drug dealer.
"I was forced to drive the car with the gun to my head," she said.
Ms Greer claimed Martin threw away her birth control pills “to try and get me pregnant”.
"Maybe he thought that he could control me more if I was with his child,” she said.
This followed a drugged-up violent attack on the Ms Greer as she was hit, raped and choked until she passed out.
"He turned around and he just started to hit me, hit me, hit me," she said.
Despite apologising after each assault, Martin's controlling behaviour did not stop.
The pair embarked on a 2500km road trip south of Cairns during which Martin's abusive behaviour continued.
Contemplating killing Martin
In one incident, he shoved Ms Greer on to the floor between the car door and seats, breaking her nose and turning her face "purple", she said.
She became so desperate to escape that she even contemplated killing Martin, but was worried things would grow worse if an attempt went wrong.
During one stop on their journey, she left an unanswered plea for help in a visitor's book.
After five days of driving, the pair stopped for petrol at a service station in Mitchell and left without paying. The service station manager called police.
Caltex Mitchell manager Beverley Page told reporters at the time it was clear the woman, crying and shaking, was in a bad way when she explained she couldn't pay for fuel because her ex-boyfriend had her wallet.
Broken nose, bite marks
Officers pulled their 4WD over on the Warrego Highway and found Martin hiding in the back of the vehicle.
Ms Greer described her litany of injuries left by Martin: "He broke my nose, split my eyebrow open, I had various amounts of bite marks all up and down my arms, I had bite marks on my face, he had stabbed me in the neck with the key, I had two black eyes, hand prints all over my body from bruises. So many bruises."
Two years on from the harrowing experience, Ms Greer said Australia was "one of the nicest countries" she has visited and would "love" to live there.
Martin, 24, of Cairns, pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one count of deprivation of liberty in October last year and is due to be sentenced on May 28.
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