‘I thought I'd have to plan her funeral': Mother's grief over DV ordeal

News.com.au

5 hours ago

A young woman says she no longer feels safe in the world after being gaslit, assaulted and stalked by social media personality Henri Thynne – the half brother of influencer Tammy Hembrow.
Thynne was released on parole after being sentenced for a disturbing series of domestic violence offences against the woman, including sexual assault, strangulation, and stalking. She said she was pushed to her 'absolute limits' during and after the ordeal.
Thynne, 21, appeared in Brisbane District Court on Thursday wearing a hoodie and black pants, having already spent 349 days in custody at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre.
The court was told the offences began in November 2023. In March this year, Thynne sexually assaulted the woman after she told him she didn't want to have sex.
The Crown prosecutor told the court that Thynne pushed her onto the bed and ripped off her pants.
A week later, while watching a movie at his father's home, the woman tried to cuddle Thynne but he elbowed her in the head, causing her pain and a headache.
She texted a friend to come and pick her up, but Thynne noticed and lashed out again, pushing her against a wall and strangling her by the throat.
'She was terrified she was going to die,' the prosecutor said.
Thynne slapped the woman's head against the bed multiple times. She was left with throat pain, difficulty swallowing and bruises on her thighs.
A protection order was issued on March 20, but Thynne went on to breach it repeatedly between March and July, contacting the woman 'several hundred times' via text, phone, and social media, begging her not to go to the police and declaring his love.
He was charged in April and May for multiple breaches. The woman later moved interstate to escape him.
The court was told Thynne was on both probation and bail at the time of the offences.
The breach of bail was in relation to a road rage incident, during which he punched another man following a minor traffic dispute and spat on the victim's car.
In a powerful victim impact statement, the victim described Thynne's actions as 'calculated and terrifying,' saying they had fundamentally changed the way she viewed the world.
'Since that day my world has felt different, I carry fears in places that I never used to. I question my safety in everyday situations,' she said.
Once a 'happy and confident' person, she now struggles to build friendships or trust others and said she didn't know if she could ever love or feel love again.
'I struggle to find a sense of my own future,' she said.
She told the court that Thynne manipulated and gaslit her throughout the ordeal, and the psychological impact had been severe.
'Sleep has become something that I dread. The nightmares are relentless … I wake up in a panic, gasping for air,' she said.
'Most nights I can get three or four hours of broken sleep at best … It's mentally exhausting.'
Her anxiety has affected her work, education and health, she told the court.
'This crime has affected my usual bubbly, energetic and confident personality and has damaged all of my social connections tremendously … I find it difficult to be happy and positive.
'I've been pushed to my absolute limits … (It's) pain that I still live with every day.'
Her mother also delivered a tearful statement, telling the court that she never imagined her daughter would be caught up in such a situation.
'I never thought for a second that my daughter would be involved in a violent relationship, but here we are,' she said.
She described the toll the experience had taken on her own mental health and the sense of helplessness she felt watching her daughter suffer.
As Thynne continued to stalk them, she told the court they installed 'countless security cameras' around the home.
'I want to pack up and move … I want to move because I don't feel safe,' the mother said.
She spoke of the sleepless nights, wandering the house with her daughter, both rattled by the trauma.
'I can't express the worry I feel as a mother knowing that I could had to have planned a funeral this time last year,' she said.
The court was told Thynne had a serious steroid addiction between the ages of 16 and 21 and had lost 20kg in custody due to no longer using performance-enhancing drugs.
Thynne's barrister, Greg Maguire, said Thynne had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, major depressive disorder and bipolar and had attempted to strangle himself while in custody.
He said Thynee had a difficult childhood, including abuse from his mother before moving in with his father in high school.
Mr Maguire said his client planned to undertake three weeks of mental health care upon release.
The court was told Thynne made most of his income through social media, where his fitness accounts had attracted hundreds of thousands of followers.
Judge Brad Farr SC said the offending was 'appalling' and had a 'dramatic adverse impact' on the victims.
'Domestic violence is not tolerated in a civilised society … your behaviour was extraordinary,' he said.
'I do not for one second believe that you did not know the community's attitude in that regard.'
He rejected steroid use as an excuse, comparing it to alcohol-fuelled violence.
He was sentenced to a head sentence of three years' imprisonment, with one charge suspended for an operational period of 12 months. He was released immediately on parole.
Thynne, a bodybuilder and social media personality, missed Hembrow's high-profile wedding last year while in custody.
Hembrow has publicly distanced herself from her half brother, denying claims she ever supported him or bailed him out.
'I have had no involvement whatsoever … I'm not involved at all, in any way,' she said in a TikTok video viewed more than two million times.
'My heart goes out to everyone involved.'