Heartbroken family of Dannielle Finlay-Jones reveal the one change that could’ve saved their daughter after she was killed by her Bumble match

The family of a woman who was killed by a man she met on a dating app claim tougher bail and AVO laws might have meant their daughter would still be alive today. 

Jacky Finlay-Jones and her family refuses to say the name of the man who murdered her only daughter, Dannielle, at her friend’s home in Cranebrook, western Sydney, on December 18, 2022.

The 31-year-old had been on just three dates with Ashley Gaddie, 33, when he brutally assaulted her before fleeing to the Blue Mountains, where he was found on a cliff two days later.

Although Dannielle didn’t know it at the time, Gaddie was the subject of five AVOs taken out on him by five different women and was on bail for a domestic violence offence when he killed her.

Dannielle met Gaddie on the Bumble app. He only had to give his first name before having access to thousands of women, despite his history of gendered violence.

Ms Finlay-Jones and her son, Blake, on Sunday said they have struggled to move forward in life when domestic violence is still such a prevalent issue in Australia.

‘As much as we have hoped and prayed that we were the last person this would ever happen to, that things would change, there has been over 100 deaths last year, the numbers are going up and it’s just devastating,’ Ms Finlay-Jones told news.com.au.

‘Danni would still be here if there had been stricter bail laws for repeat offenders and tougher rules around AVOs. In her case the man, we don’t use his name, had five AVOs taken out on him by five different women.’

Dannielle Finlay-Jones (pictured) was murdered at her friend’s home in Cranebrook on December 18, 2022

Ashley Gaddie (pictured) killed Dannielle on bail for an unrelated domestic violence offence

Dannielle’s brother was due to meet Gaddie just days after her murder (pictured, the home where Dannielle was killed)

Blake, who was due to meet Gaddie over Christmas lunch, said the killer’s existing AVOs would have been a ‘red flag’ for the family, had they known about them.

Worsening the family’s situation was the death of Gaddie, who was found unresponsive in his prison cell in April 2024.

His death meant Dannielle’s murder would never be heard in court and Gaddie ‘will always to the outside world be known as the accused’.

Now, the Finlay-Jones family has to wait through a backlog of cases before the coroner can reach Dannielle’s. 

‘We understand a small wait, but it has already been one year since the accused took his own life; one year our lives are still in a holding pattern; one year (wasted to introduce) any recommendations that may have helped other domestic violence victims’ Ms Finlay-Jones said

‘The wait is just horrible, it is almost like they have forgotten the victim’s family and friends.’

The frustrated mother said it was unfair for her family, and other victims’, to be forced to live in ‘limbo’ while domestic violence continues to rule headlines.

‘These men have a pattern; they are charming, the love bombing, then the controlling, and then the escalation,’ Blake said.

Jacky Finaly-Jones (pictured) believes the only way her family will get closure will be with a coronial inquest into her daughter’s death

Dannielle’s brother Blake (pictured together) said Gaddie’s five existing AVOs were ‘red flags’, but they didn’t know about them

‘It’s almost like a hate crime, like a woman’s hate crime and there he is on the end of an app. Swipe the wrong type of situation, a murder waiting to happen.’

Ms Finlay-Jones believes the only way her family will get closure will be with a coronial inquest with recommendations on how to prevent further deaths.

NSW Local Courts confirmed no dates have been set for a coronial inquest into Dannielle’s or Gaddie’s deaths.

Attorney-General Michael Daly said ‘the NSW Government is working to strengthen the coronial system’.

‘Funding worth $18million for the Bondi Junction inquest has allowed an additional magistrate to be appointed. This ensures other inquests and inquiries can continue to progress,’ he said.

‘We have also made it harder for accused serious domestic violence offenders to get bail and ensured those who are bailed are electronically monitored by Corrective Services.’

Gaddie and Dannielle went to a pub at Marsden Park for their third date.

Dannielle introduced Gaddie as her new partner to her friends at the social event. 

They then spent the night at the home of Danielle’s friend.

Police said one of the residents was woken at 3am by what they described as ‘loud violent sex’ between the pair.

At 2.30pm the next day, friends of Dannielle realised it was strange they hadn’t heard from the new couple since the previous night.

One of her friends found Dannielle’s lifeless body, lying on her back on the bedroom floor and she had suffered major head injuries.

Gaddie fled the property by cutting a hole in the fly screen of the window but was caught by police three days later, in the NSW Blue Mountains. 

Friends later revealed Dannielle 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.

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