The Man of My Dreams Turned Out to Be an Abusive Monster

Raped, beaten, gagged and left for dead, this brave survivor shares her story in her bid to help other women.

- Lizzie Wilson

Nikitah Beadman thought Robert Galleghan was the man of her dreams: Twelve years her senior, he was a good-natured gentleman who wooed her and showered her with gifts. With his charm, he easily worked his way into her young heart.

Little did the teenager know she’d fallen in love with a man who would become one of the most evil predators in Australian criminal history. Speaking out in the hope her story will help others, Nikitah, now 21, will never forget the night the man she once believed to be her soulmate almost killed her.

“No one should ever have to endure what happened to me. My story is what they make horror movies about – except mine was real,” Nikitah tells Woman’s Day magazine exclusively from her home in Gold Coast.

it was a balmy night in November 2012, when then 17-year-old Nikitah attended a “party” at Robert’s house on a remote property in southeast Queensland. She had tried to end their year-long relationship after he had become increasingly aggressive, and hoped attending would keep things amicable.

When Nikitah arrived at around 8.30 pm, Robert was there along with friends, and already drunk. He began yelling abusive words at her, and soon his threats turned physical.

“Things got ugly – he threw me against a wall and smashed my head on a coffee table,” she recalls. “His friends tried to stop him and he threatened them with a knife – they fled.”

Facing Terror Alone