Angela Jay said she “cried tears of relief” when police told her that had killed Paul Lambert – a Tinder stalker who repeatedly stabbed and doused the young doctor in petrol after she broke up with him.
Trainee obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Jay said it was a “miracle” she survived the attack.
“I looked down at my legs and saw stab wounds and thought, ‘My God, he’s going to kill me, I’m going to bleed to death’,” she said.
Talking to The Daily Telegraph for the first time since the attack in November last year, Dr Jay described the terror she felt when Lambert attacked her after breaking into her Port Macquarie home.
“I put pressure on my leg using my hand, all the time thinking, ‘I need to get out of here.’ He caught me again and started pouring petrol over me, there was terror now and that gave me extra strength to run.
“I slipped because of the petrol … It’s a miracle I survived.
“It was adrenaline, luck and being able to look at it as an outsider with a clinical eye.”
Dr Jay told The Daily Telegraph she was still trying to wrap her head around how she became the victim of Lambert’s deranged obsession, which resulted in him being shot dead by police after a pursuit on the Pacific Highway at Bonville.
Two weeks after the pair met on dating app Tinder, where he was initially “very charming and attentive”, the relationship broke down when he harassed her during a holiday to South Africa.
“He was possessive and controlling and would get jealous when I’d talk to friends on Facebook,” she said.
At the insistence of her sister, Dr Jay took out an AVO against Lambert but the threats continued.
“Your (sic) not safe in that house. I have some of the house keys,” he texted her, court documents show.
“I need you to understand this is my good side right now. The good side won’t last long. Especially being rejected.” Lambert also threatened to “throw himself in front of a train”.
On the night of the attack, Dr Jay had popped home at 6pm to pick up her belongings when Lambert leapt out of her wardrobe and began the violent attack.
Her screams alerted neighbour Steve Wildern to what was going on and he ran over with steel bar to see Dr Jay stagger out of the house covered in blood.
Despite being barely conscious, Dr Jay instructed Mr Willdern to control the loss of blood by ripping up sheets and towels to use as bandages.
“It was the worst day of my life,” Dr Jay told The Daily Telegraph.
“I’m glad he’s dead. I cried tears of relief when the police told me. I feel an overwhelming sense of shame and embarrassment that I didn’t see it coming — that I might have somehow encouraged what happened.
“It devalues you. It wasn’t until I encountered violence myself that I understood the overwhelming fear women in these situations feel.”
In September, Dr Jay will take part in White Ribbon’s 65km fundraising Trek For Respect along the Larapinta Trail in the Northern Territory.
“For a while I beat myself up about going back to the house but I had to go through it to end up where I am now, where he’s gone and now I’m safe.
“If telling my story gives even one person the strength to ask for help — I’ve achieved something.”
