Sydney mum speaking out after horrific domestic violence assaults

A Sydney mum was almost killed by her ex husband. What happened next made it infinitely worse. WARNING: Confronting

Rhiannon Purcell thought she was going to die at the hands of her ex. Now she's speaking out to save other women.

WARNING: Disturbing images and descriptions of violence

Rhiannon Purcell had an impossible choice to make.

She had been arguing over the phone with her estranged ex-husband as she was driving to collect her twin daughters, aged 3, from his home in southwest Sydney.

She pulled over, fearing that when she arrived he would take his anger out on her physically.

But she could not leave her kids with him, either.

In an act of selflessness and bravery on that night in March, 2023, Ms Purcell drove on. Her ex-husband made his intentions clear in the driveway of the home when he turned off the outside lights and walked to her car.

“I was assuming he did that so no-one could see anything. I was terrified,” Ms Purcell told news.com.au.

He put the girls in the back and sat beside Ms Purcell in the front passenger seat.

“He just started saying, ‘Who are you to talk to me like that?’ It was really aggressive. I knew straight away that I was going to be attacked so I went for the door to run.

The freezer door was ripped off during one of Ms Purcell’s ex-husband’s violent outbursts.

He snatched her phone off her before attacking her, according to court documents seen by ABC News, which first reported Ms Purcell’s harrowing story.

“As I went to get out, I felt a blow to the side of my head,” Ms Purcell told news.com.au.

“My girls had got out and were standing there screaming.”

A passing car might have saved her life. She flagged it down only to realise it was a member of her ex-husband’s family.

Her attacker fled, leaving a window of opportunity for her to collect the children and drive to safety.

“As I was driving home, I didn’t actually realise the extent of my injuries but I could feel something warm and wet dripping down my body. When I got home, I looked down and was literally covered in blood.

Rhiannon Purcell after she was attacked in March, 2023.

Her children thought she was dying, she said.

Her ex-husband was convicted over the assault and jailed for nine months with a non-parole period of just four.

According to court documents seen by the ABC, the man has “an extensive history of violent offending including domestic violence offences and personal violence offences.”

An apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) was taken out in July of 2023. In 50 days, it expires.

Ms Purcell says that with the help of police she hopes to get the extension granted. She says it should be for an indefinite period to adequately protect her.

News.com.au has approached NSW Police for comment.

Rhiannon Purcell needed three staples to close a 4cm gash on the back of her head.

‘The ongoing fear I live in’

On social media, Ms Purcell is speaking up. She is sharing the graphic images of her injuries from the night in March, 2023, as well as pictures of the aftermath of other acts of violence inside her home.

On one image showing a freezer door ripped off its hinges and a hole in a timber door, she writes: “After his measly 5 month sentence and he was released from jail, I was offered the decision of (him) having an ankle monitor. It was only active for the remaining 4 months of his sentence. The day that ended, my anxiety was through the roof.”

Speaking to news.com.au, Ms Purcell said the decision to speak up and show the reality of domestic violence was not an easy one. But it was important.

“I did that for my family and my kids but also for all women of Australia and all women that have died since last year,” she said.

“I’m speaking out for my daughters and their daughters and all future women of Australia. Not many women speak out or show their face. I was also discouraged from doing that.

“But I just thought, you know what, I need to speak up. I just wanted to highlight the flaws in the system and show people why women are dying. It is not going to stop until there is real change.”

Part of that change is explored in a change.org petition Ms Purcell titled: Protect Women and Children: Demand for Stronger Domestic Violence Laws & Penalties.

“Too many women and children are being failed by a broken system,” she writes in the petition.

“So far this year 28 women have been killed in Australia, 131 women have been killed since the 1st of January 2024. These aren’t just numbers, they are people. They are mothers, daughters and sisters.”

She knows how lucky she was to avoid becoming another statistic.