An ex-girlfriend who escaped the murderous clutches of dating app killer Ashley Gaddie has branded him a psychopath who should have killed himself months ago.
Gaddie, 35, committed suicide in his cell at Clarence Correctional Centre near Grafton, northern NSW, at about 3.15pm on Saturday.
His death came 16 months after he battered Dannielle Finlay-Jones, 31, to death at a home in Cranebrook, in Sydney’s west, on the night of December 17, 2022.
After her death, Gaddie staged a 12-hour stand-off at a clifftop lookout in the Blue Mountains until he was grabbed by officers and arrested.
But former lover Rachel Piekar, 33, said Gaddie should have saved everyone the cost of his prison upkeep and leapt to his death instead.
Rachel Piekar with Ashley Gaddie who rapidly turned from ‘ a really nice guy’ into a narcissistic psycho who beat her, belittled her and finally tried to kill her in what was a narrow escape
Rachel Piekar said Ashley Gaddie ‘should have jumped’ during his 12hr stand-off with police (above) in the Blue Mountains after Dannielle Finlay-Jones’s battered body was found
Rachel Piekar predicted Gaddie would kill ‘the next one’ but was shocked on learning that Dannielle Finlay-Jones (left) had been bashed to death after a night out with him in December 2022
‘He should have jumped,’ she said.
‘He was a waste of space. I don’t have to pay for him to sit in jail now and get given food and water.
‘I see homeless people who don’t get that, I don’t even eat three meals a day.’
Gaddie and Ms Finlay-Jones went on a pub date after meeting on the Bumble dating app hours earlier.
They then spent the night at the home of Ms Finlay-Jones’ friend, before her mates found her body with horrific head injuries in the bedroom the next day.
Friends later revealed Ms Finlay-Jones thought she had done the right thing by arranging a date with Gaddie in a public place and bringing him back to her friend’s home.
But unknown to her, Gaddie had a history of violence against women and had previously tried to kill Ms Piekar, 33.
She was one of five women who took Apprehended Violence Orders out against him before his deadly attack on Ms Finlay-Jones.
‘I said to people when I went to court, “He will kill the next one”. He is an absolute violent and controlling narcissist. But at first you think he’s charming,’ she said.
Ms Piekar said Gaddie was a ‘violent monster’ and told Daily Mail Australia his death had left her ‘numb’.
She said his suicide – and name in the media again – had revived horrific memories of his savage violence and threats to kill her, and his chilling promise to hide her body where no-one would find it.
It also brought back the moment she narrowly escaped being murdered by him.
The pair dated for three months on and off after Ms Piekar accepted a random friend request from him on Facebook.
The relationship ended after brutal showdown in July 2021, when she was living at her father’s house near Shoalhaven, south of Sydney.
Ms Piekar, 33, said Gaddie was ‘charming’ at first then belittling, violent and chillingly once told her he could hide her body at the waterfall they were visiting
Rachel Piekar admitted feeling ‘numb’ on learning her violent ex had killed himself in jail, but also ‘relief’. She said Gaddie was ‘a psychopath’ who tried to strangle her
Gaddie burst into the house in a rage and began to attack Ms Piekar, ‘smashing her head into the ground’ and trying to strangle her.
She lost her phone in the fight and although her father was home, he was in a different part of his large home and was unaware of the Gaddie’s bloodlust.
Gaddie smashed a window and punched a hole in the wall as he threatened to kill her while she cowered behind a locked and barricaded door where she was hiding.
Ms Piekar’s father eventually realised what was happening and called police who charged Gaddie with destroying property and assault.
Ms Piekar now lives with PTSD, as well as permanent physical pain, and a neck disability from being strangled.
‘I managed to barricade myself in at the last minute – and I only just got away with my daughter,’ she said.
‘I can’t ever maintain a relationship now.’
Gaddie had been living in a small two-bedroom apartment at Five Dock with his mother, and appeared to be a nice guy, but it didn’t take long for the mask to slip, Ms Piekar said.
‘He always targeted single mothers and break them down,’ she said.
‘He would be normal and then he would just flip and he’d be mentally controlling and belittling me.
‘He’d make you feel worthless and then he would get violent.’
Mother-of-two Rachel Piekar said Ashley Gaddie’s charming exterior fell away pretty quickly to reveal ‘the monster’ within
She said Gaddie regularly assaulted her and pulled out her hair, but would switch back to being a loving boyfriend when he returned from working at the mines in Dubbo.
But soon the cycle of violence would start again.
‘He would always joke about killing me, except he wasn’t joking,’ she said.
‘We once went looking at the waterfalls at Fitzroy Falls (in the NSW Southern Highlands) and he said, “No-one would find you down there, Rachel”.’
In December 2022, as news emerged of Gaddie killing Ms Finlay-Jones, Ms Piekar’s sister called to tell her: ‘You might want to sit down…’
Ms Piekar said she could understand Ms Finlay-Jones friends and family’s frustration at Gaddie’s death before he could face a murder trial or plead not guilty.
She added: ‘They would be feeling cheated.’
Ms Piekar said the death of Ms Finlay-Jones – a beloved teacher and soccer administrator – had left her heartbroken: ‘She had her whole life ahead of her.’
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