‘HORROR MOVIE WITH JAMES BOND STUNTS AND A HAPPY ENDING’ MIGHT SOUND LIKE THE ELEVATOR PITCH FOR A LOW-BUDGET SLASHER FLICK, BUT THIS NEAR-DEADLY ATTACK ON BACKPACKERS IN SALT CREEK, AUSTRALIA, WAS ALL TOO REAL FOR TWO BRAVE WOMEN
Roman Heinze was not supposed to be using Gumtree. The 59-year-old Adelaide resident had been subjected to a court order forbidding him from using it since 2014, when he’d been charged with the indecent assault of two young backpackers he’d met through a classified ad on the site. But he’d been planning a camping trip to the tiny settlement of Salt Creek on Australia’s southwest coast and, after his girlfriend had abruptly ended their relationship, he had no one to go with. There were always plenty of backpackers posting ads on Gumtree asking for rides from Adelaide to Melbourne: none of them would know about the court order. And what they didn’t know couldn’t hurt them.
He’d already responded to a dozen adverts but with no success. Then, during the first week of February 2016, he spotted a potential opportunity in the form of an enthusiastic post from a young woman searching for a travelling companion.
“Hey, I’m a 23 yo Brazilian! Looking for someone to travel from Adelaide to Melbourne at 9th till 11th… I’m flexible and I can change my plans a bit! Just let me know if you are interested! Cheers!”
It looked like Heinze’s luck had changed. The ad has been posted by Beatriz Furtado, who was following a nursing internship at a Sydney hospital but had decided to take some time off to see the rest of Australia.
“Everyone says it’s a good experience to travel by yourself,” Beatriz told 60 Minutes Australia. “And I thought, like, I’m gonna be in Australia, I’m gonna meet people on the way, it’s a lovely country… just gonna try.”
Beatriz had indeed met people along the way, including German backpacker Lena Rabente, 23, who was also backpacking alone and had met Beatriz at around the time the Gumtree ad was posted. The two had immediately hit it off, and it didn’t take long for Beatriz to persuade Lena to come with her to Melbourne.
Their plan hit a snag on the evening of 8 February. The driver they’d arranged to go with cancelled after his car broke down. And only one other driver had responded to Beatriz’ ad – Roman Heinze.
A LITTLE BIT WEIRD
When the two girls arrived at the arranged meeting point, Heinze was already waiting in his huge silver Nissan SUV. This was supposed to be an eight-hour trip, but the car was packed with ca
