Online donors have rallied to raise nearly $30,000 for a former Launceston woman and her partner who were assaulted on holiday in Samoa last year.
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Angie Jackson and Tommy Williams had woken at 2am to catch an early flight home on September 24 when an intruder sprang from the corner of their hotel room brandishing scissors.
The intruder, who had escaped from Tafa’igata prison, forced the couple to the floor before switching off the lights.
The couple were then bound and gagged the pair with their own clothes, and Ms Jackson was allegedly raped.
On a GoFundMe page, Ms Jackson said she thought she and her partner were going to die.
“He asked me why he shouldn’t kill us. Why shouldn’t we die. I answered because we have too much to live for,” Ms Jackson wrote.
“All I could think about was my family and friends, and how I might never see them again.
“I begged for our lives. I told Tom I love him. Over and over.”
The intruder left the pair gagged under a doona and was collecting valuables from the room when the hotel manager came to check on the pair, who had missed their 3am taxi, and the man fled.
He was caught by Samoan police on October 4 and was set to face trial on Friday.
Ms Jackson’s sister uploaded a GoFundMe page on Wednesday, asking for $23,000 so the couple could fly to Samoa to witness at the trial and cover the cost of a lawyer.
As of Friday night, the page had received 570 donations totalling $28,080, with many donors leaving messages of love and support for the couple.
“Money certainly won’t erase what happened to us, nor will it speed up our healing,” Ms Jackson wrote.
“But it will take away any financial pressure we feel over what is going to be very traumatic and stressful time for both Tom and I, as we try to find some justice for the evil that we were dealt.
“And most importantly, it will put this man behind bars, where he belongs, for a very long time.”
To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/justiceangietommy
