ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
  1. Home
  2. Real Life

Queensland outback horror: I was kidnapped and raped at gunpoint

Elisha Greer is bravely speaking out - by Nicola Moors, Hotspot Media
  • 04 Aug 2019

When Elisha Greer, 25, met Marcus Martin at a party, it was the start of a terrifying month. Here in her own words she tells her shocking story...

Sun rays baked my skin as I sipped on cold beer.

‘This is the life,’ I said to myself.

For the past 18 months, I’d been backpacking along the east coast of Australia. Now I was in Cairns, Qld, where I was living and working.

One night, I went to a party with some friends and met a man called Marcus, 22. We got chatting and he seemed friendly. I dropped him home later that night and we exchanged numbers.  A few days later, he texted me.

Fancy grabbing sushi? he said.

Sounds good! I replied.

It was nice to have a friend to hang out with. Then two weeks later, during a night out, Marcus got really drunk.

‘This is my girlfriend,’ he slurred to other drinkers.

Alarm bells started to ring but he seemed tense so I didn’t correct him. Then later that night, back in my hotel room, Marcus went berserk.

‘You’ve been getting with other guys!’ he raged, smashing up the room.

He’s crazy! I realised.

Then, he pounced on me and choked me until I passed out.

When I woke up, he was on top of me, pinning me down. Pulling down my undies, he raped me. I couldn’t fight him off as terror took over my body. Afterwards he took my passport and my phone.

‘I’ll keep hold of these,’ he raged. ‘I’m in a gang,’ he sneered, as he showed me a knife he was carrying. ‘If you leave me, they’ll find you and your family and kill you.’

I bristled. There was no way I’d let anything happen to my family. I realised that I was under his control. A hostage.

xx

Marcus Martin.

Supplied.
Queensland outback horror: I was kidnapped and raped at gunpoint
Elisha Greer. CREDIT: Hotspot Media.

After that we moved around Cairns, switching hotels every day. We only left our room if we had to and I’d noticed he had a gun. Over the following weeks, he beat me senseless. He punched me in the face repeatedly and tried to gouge out my eyes.

After he raped and attacked me, he acted remorseful. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said.

But I felt numb. At night while Marcus slept, I eyed his knife. I could stab him, I thought. Fear took over and I couldn’t do it. What if he woke up?

Then Marcus announced we were going on a road trip to Charleville in outback Queensland. ‘I’ve got some work lined up there,’ he said.

I drove for hours at gunpoint and only stopped for food and to sleep. And Marcus only let me out of the car to go to the shop or fill up at petrol stations. He even chucked my contraceptive pills out of the window.

‘I want to get you pregnant,’ Marcus smirked.

During our road trip, Marcus raped me again in the back of the car. Then he beat me. Spotting my face in the wing mirror, I gasped in shock.
Covered in bruises, I was unrecognisable.

vv

I was covered in bruises.

Hotspot Media.

So I devised an escape route – I’d refuse to pay for fuel at a servo so that staff would call the police. The next day we were low on fuel. So I headed into a gas station.

‘I don’t have enough money to pay for the petrol,’ I told him blankly. ‘And my partner beat me up.’

He reached under the desk. He’s calling the police! Instead he pulled out his wallet.

‘I’ll pay for it,’ he smiled.

‘Thank you,’ I managed to force out.

I climbed back into my car, feeling deflated.

The following day, after hundreds more miles, we ran out of petrol again in Mitchell, Qld. I filled my car with petrol then walked into the station.

‘I’ve been beaten up and I can’t afford the fuel,’ I blurted out. Before the attendant could react, I walked out the door and drove off.

I prayed she’d call the police.

vv

CCTV of me outside the petrol station.

Supplied.

We’d barely gotten two miles down the road when I saw flashing blue lights in the rear view mirror. A police car! They pulled me over while Marcus hid in the back.

I was too terrified to beg for help. I knew what Marcus was capable of. But instead of asking about my injuries, officers took me to the police station.
‘Can anyone pay your fuel bill?’ they asked.

I was gobsmacked. Reluctantly, I gave them my godparent Ian’s number. As soon as I heard my godfather’s voice, I broke down.

‘He’ll kill me, he’ll kill me,’ I blurted out.

‘Who?’ he said.

‘I can’t tell you,’ I sobbed.

Ian told officers to check the car and they found Marcus. He was arrested immediately. My three-week ordeal was over. Taken to Roma hospital, women’s health counsellors called my parents and Mum raced to be with me. 

Doctors revealed my nose was completely shattered into several pieces and I needed re-constructive surgery to glue it back together. In October 2018, Marcus Allyn Keith Martin, 24, appeared at Cairns District Court and pleaded guilty to three counts of rape and one count of deprivation of liberty.

He was later jailed for 10 years.

Marcus shouldn’t be allowed back into society. Now I’m speaking out to take back control of my situation.

Despite going the journey of hell, I’ve come out of the other side and I’m a survivor.

xxx

I'm a survivor.

Hotspot Media.

‘Control and domination’

Handing down Martin’s 10-year sentence in May, Judge Dean Morzone declared Martin a serious violent offender, meaning he must serve at least 80 per cent of his sentence. ‘You exerted control and domination through physical abuse and torment … psychological, emotional humiliation and degradation,’ he told Martin.

  • News
  • Real Life

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Subscribe to That's Life!

Subscribe Now
Subscribe to That's Life!

Recommended to you

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

There Was A Snake In Our Bed!

There Was A Snake In Our Bed!

Body found in search for Queensland girl Ellie, 3, who vanished from her home

Body found in search for Queensland girl Ellie, 3, who vanished from her home

10 Budget-Savvy Tips for Groceries and Bills

10 Budget-Savvy Tips for Groceries and Bills

I Had a Gastric Sleeve at 17

I Had a Gastric Sleeve at 17

{headline}

{headline}

Aussie Mum's Shock: The Hidden Killer In Our Home

Aussie Mum's Shock: The Hidden Killer In Our Home

Scarred for life by me evil ex

Scarred for life by me evil ex

Brave mum: 'I escaped from hell for my boys'

Brave mum: 'I escaped from hell for my boys'

{headline}

{headline}

Aussie teen's hell - Evil boyfriend kept her in a cage

Aussie teen's hell - Evil boyfriend kept her in a cage

Husband who crashed car into river, killing his wife, has still not apologised to her family

Husband who crashed car into river, killing his wife, has still not apologised to her family

Dad accused of murdering estranged pregnant wife because 'he did not want the child'

Dad accused of murdering estranged pregnant wife because 'he did not want the child'

Body found in search for tourist who went missing after hitting his head and running off

Body found in search for tourist who went missing after hitting his head and running off

Woolworths' plan to stop overcrowding at self-checkout queues

Woolworths' plan to stop overcrowding at self-checkout queues

Townsville couple are found dead a week after going missing on camping trip

Townsville couple are found dead a week after going missing on camping trip

Evil boyfriend killed my girl over a PHOTO

Evil boyfriend killed my girl over a PHOTO

ThatsLife
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy
ThatsLife Magazine Subscribe
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • New Idea
  • Who
  • Girlfriend
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Beauty Crew
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • Hard to Find
  • Australian Women's Weekly
© 2023 Are Media PTY LTD
All products are independently selected, tested or recommended by our team of experts. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. Are Media and its brands may have generated text partially using generative AI. Upon generating draft language, our editors review, edit, and revise it to their own liking. We take ultimate responsibility for the content of our publications.
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe to That's Life!-+ save!

Shop This Offer
Subscribe to That's Life!