Angela Jay: Tinder date victim cried tears of relief when police shot dead her psychotic attacker
EXCLUSIVE: Angela Jay, the young doctor who was stabbed and doused in petrol by a stalker, bravely reveals the scars she suffered on the “worst day of her life” - when she thought she was “going to bleed to death”.
NSW
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A BEAUTIFUL young doctor who was repeatedly stabbed and doused in petrol by a crazed Tinder stalker said it is a “miracle” she is alive after being certain she was “going to bleed to death” following his attack.
Angela Jay said she “cried tears of relief” when police told her they had killed Paul Lambert, who broke into her Port Macquarie house and hid in waiting as part of a twisted murder plot.
Trainee obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Jay, speaking for the first time in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, said that at one point she slipped while trying to run away because Lambert had poured so much petrol over her.
“I looked down at my legs and saw stab wounds and thought, ‘My God, he’s going to kill me, I’m going to bleed to death’,” the 28-year-old said.
“I put pressure on my leg using my hand, all the time thinking, ‘I need to get out of here.’ He caught me again and started pouring petrol over me, there was terror now and that gave me extra strength to run.
“I slipped because of the petrol ... It’s a miracle I survived.
“It was adrenaline, luck and being able to look at it as an outsider with a clinical eye.”
The savage November attack has left the US-born, Central Coast-raised doctor so “edgy” that some days she will find herself checking cupboards or under the bed for intruders. She is also troubled by nightmares.
I need you to understand this is my good side right now. The good side won’t last long. Especially being rejected - LAMBERT
She summoned the strength to share her story with The Daily Telegraph to encourage victims of domestic violence to seek help.
In September Dr Jay will support White Ribbon’s 65km fundraising Trek For Respect along the Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory.
Despite seven wounds to the right leg and hip, she is determined to do the walk to tackle the demons that haunt her.
Dr Jay said she was still trying to fathom how she became the object of a deranged man’s obsession, which ended in him being shot dead by police on the Pacific Hwy at Bonville after a pursuit.
Police believe Lambert harboured a sick fantasy to rape and kill the young doctor after becoming enraged when she ended their six-week relationship.
They had met through the dating app Tinder.
At first, Dr Jay found him “very charming and attentive”. But the affair quickly soured after just two weeks when he bombarded her with texts and phone calls while she holidayed in South Africa.
“He was possessive and controlling and would get jealous when I’d talk to friends on Facebook,” she said.
After the break-up, Lambert repeatedly warned Dr Jay that he had keys to her house. She took out an apprehended violence order at the insistence of her sister Danielle Walker.
“Your (sic) not safe in that house. I have some of the house keys,” he texted her, according to court documents submitted when she applied for the order.
I looked down at my legs and saw stab wounds and thought, ‘My God, he’s going to kill me, I’m going to bleed to death - ANGELA
He also warned: “I need you to understand this is my good side right now. The good side won’t last long. Especially being rejected.” Lambert also threatened to “throw himself in front of a train”.
Dr Jay eventually gave him a second chance and they attended an event in Gosford.
But his obsessive behaviour flared again and she had to flee to her sister’s house.
Ms Jay was so scared she considered faking abdominal pain to get admitted to hospital to avoid going home.
The night of the attack she arrived home about 6pm to pick up her belongings. He leapt out of her walk-in wardrobe and stabbed her repeatedly with a large knife and doused her in petrol.
Her screams alerted neighbour Steve Willdern, who raced to the house wielding a steel bar just as the badly injured and blood-soaked doctor pushed open the front door and staggered out.
Lying in his garage barely conscious, Dr Jay told Mr Willdern to rip up sheets and towels to use as bandages to control the loss of blood.
“It was the worst day of my life,” Dr Jay told The Daily Telegraph.
“I’m glad he’s dead. I cried tears of relief when the police told me. I feel an overwhelming sense of shame and embarrassment that I didn’t see it coming — that I might have somehow encouraged what happened.
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“It devalues you. It wasn’t until I encountered violence myself that I understood the overwhelming fear women in these situations feel.”
Dr Jay is determined not to let the assault destroy her life. She has recently returned to work on the Central Coast, where she can be closer to family and friends.
And she does not blame dating apps for what happened.
“It’s part of our generation,” she said. “For a while I beat myself up about going back to the house but I had to go through it to end up where I am now, where he’s gone and now I’m safe.
“If telling my story gives even one person the strength to ask for help — I’ve achieved something.”
White Ribbon senior executive Chantel Plum praised Dr Jay’s strength as “inspirational”, saying: “She’s a special woman with great strength and courage, sending a powerful message.”
ANGELA WILL BE TAKING PART IN A WHITE RIBBON CHARITY WALK IN SEPTEMBER. TO SPONSOR HER CLICK HERE
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