[bright music]
[narrator] Thirty-three year old Guida dreams of starting a family.
She felt that if she didn't have a child
that time will pass her by.
[narrator] When she meets Tony Roberts online, it all falls into place.
All I've seen is happy family, a nice life, a nice house.
♪ Things were alright for a week ♪
A child. Everything that you'd ever wish for.
[narrator] But is it everything she wishes for?
Tony was in need for something else,
not for the love, for something else.
I did wonder how much I knew him as a person.
[narrator] One afternoon, a frantic call.
The police control room received a 999 call from a distressed female.
She managed to flee, but she doesn't know whether her friend is alive or dead.
[ominous music]
[heartbeat thudding]
-[film reel clicking] -[pleasant music]
[narrator] Guida's family hail from Portugal.
At three months old, Guida is the youngest.
[Cecilia] She was quite mischievous.
She was just active.
[lively music]
She was smiling.
She smiled from when she was three months old.
[narrator] In 1979, Guida's family moved to Yorkshire
because of Dad's studies.
[gentle music]
Well, actually we were supposed to come for five years
whilst my husband was studying for his PhD.
But then we decided to stay.
[narrator] Like her parents, Guida has a flair for academia.
Guida could speak Spanish, Portuguese.
Then at A-Level she took German and Russian.
Guida was bright, she was hardworking,
and she was ambitious.
She went to university
and studied politics, philosophy, and economics.
[narrator] Guida works hard at university but plays hard too,
gaining a reputation as something of a party girl.
One she shares with her friend Nik Davidson.
[contemplative music]
The main things I've learned about the younger Guida
was actually from her friends that knew her before I did.
So quite lively, party-goer.
She sounded fun.
Really, really fun.
[Cecilia] Guida liked going out at weekends, you know.
They went partying.
You know, she was a party girl and she had loads of friends.
[narrator] Guida is a hit with men too.
I know Guida had lots of boyfriends. [laughs]
I don't know if I know them all, but yeah, she had lots of...
She was very, very popular.
[percussive music]
[narrator] A year into her studies, Guida falls for one man in particular.
The couple quickly gets serious.
At that time at the age of 21 she married a Portuguese guy.
Guida was ambitious in her personal life
and we know that she desperately wanted a family.
[narrator] But does her new husband want the same things?
Apparently not.
[gentle music]
The marriage broke down.
Well, it ended amicably.
She wanted to have a child,
but he did not want to have a child.
So there were other, other problems,
but that was the main reason why they split up.
[narrator] Despite the relationship ups and downs,
Guida graduates with honors
and spends the next four years
focusing on building a career.
[soft tense music]
Guida was a young, successful woman.
We know that when she graduated university,
she ran her own occupational health company.
[narrator] A company she invests her time in
with colleague Jacqueline Senior.
Guida and I set up Leeds Occupational Health
and built the company up together.
She was clearly quite ambitious and she was full of ideas.
[narrator] By 2005, a successful Guida is earning enough money
to buy a house close to her parents in Bradford.
It was an old house, probably part of an old mill in that area.
Full of steps, very steep steps, steps to a bedroom,
steps to the bedroom next door,
steps to the bathroom.
Not the kind of house I would have chosen,
but you know, it's the house she wanted to get.
[narrator] As she reaches her 30's, Guida is a homeowner
and is running a successful business,
but there is something missing.
Guida still had this drive to be a mother and she was acutely aware
that time was running out for her.
She was desperate to have a child
because by that time she was about 33, 32, 33
and she felt that if she didn't have a child
that time will pass her by
and she would miss having a child.
[narrator] Guida returns to dating and searches online
for somebody who shares her hopes and desires.
-[sultry music] -♪ This is a woman's world ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ This is a woman's world ♪
We can see that Guida really wanted to have a relationship and start a family
and she kind of opened all her options up through the online dating experience.
She met Tony
and the relationship seemed to get off to a good start.
[narrator] Thirty-four, a gym enthusiast who keeps himself fit
and still living in the family home,
Anthony Roberts, known as Tony,
is a teaching assistant.
Guida appears taken.
We knew about Tony.
She was delighted 'cause she'd fallen in love.
[narrator] What does Mom think of the new man in her life?
The first I heard of Tony
is when he came over for a barbecue.
She brought Tony to the house one day and we sat down.
He's quite...
I suppose when you see somebody's quite good looking,
you think that person is also nice as good looking, you know?
So he seems to be okay.
Guida likes him, you know,
and I thought he was okay.
[narrator] But there is something neither Guida nor her mother knows.
Tony Roberts has a violent past.
[Paul] So we know that Tony, in his earlier years,
came into contact with the police on a number of occasions.
Initially he was arrested around a domestic dispute at home
where he'd damaged a kitchen.
And then that escalated slightly
where he had been in a short term relationship
with a female, which ended.
And as a result of that,
he then bombarded this female with text messages
and eventually was given a harassment warning notice.
And then a couple of years later, there's a couple of incidents
where violence has been involved.
On one occasion, he was involved in effectively a knife fight
with another male,
but no charges were laid.
But I think what it shows is that there's a propensity for violence in Tony.
[soft tense music]
[narrator] A propensity for violence Guida remains blissfully unaware of.
At first, the couple in their thirties and with no children,
enjoy the party lifestyle.
As part of their early relationship,
Guida and Tony were actually quite sociable.
They met up with friends, they did things outside the home.
[upbeat dance music]
To me, they seemed like a happy couple.
[narrator] The relationship travels fast.
Twelvemonths later, Tony moves into Guida's house.
For forensic psychologist Roberta Babb,
there's a red flag.
The speed at which Guida and Tony's relationship developed and progressed
is a little bit risky.
They were still in the early stage of the relationship
when you're kind of exploring and getting to know each other.
[narrator] Guida wants to start a family and she's worried.
She tells friends she hasn't much time.
Guida still had this burning to be a mother.
And I think that's partly what drove her decision
to actually progress the relationship with Tony
to living together.
[tense music]
[narrator] Tony has left his mother behind,
but finds that he still has something of a maternal influence on his life.
[Paul] He lived with his mother 'til he was 35 years of age.
We know that his relationship with Guida, that she almost kind of mothered him
and she gave him sort of tasks and directions
to do things around the house.
[narrator] Something Tony doesn't seem too pleased about.
You know that there were arguments and disagreements
around simple household chores and issues to do with cleanliness.
And we can think about Guida being a strong-minded person
who knew what she wanted
and the environment that she wanted to live in.
And, potentially, Tony struggled with this.
[tense music]
[narrator] The couple's arguments intensify.
In the summer of 2012, Guida calls police
after a row ends with Tony storming out of the house
and threatening to kill himself.
Police will regularly get information from a partner,
a loved one as a result
of an incident, a fight, an argument
whereby they fear for what might happen to that individual.
You know, they've stormed out of the house,
they've probably said things that they didn't really mean
and, you know, gonna take their own life is actually relatively common
in a heated sort of situation like that.
[narrator] Officers are dispatched. Guida is frightened.
But it appears that Tony Roberts has made an empty threat.
Tony was located.
I think they were satisfied at that particular point
that this was just an argument between a couple where things have been said
that weren't really meant.
Tony was testing Guida's commitment to him because, you know,
if he stormed off saying, "I'm gonna kill myself,"
and she thought you crack on and go and do it, you know,
I'm not interested,
then that kind of shows that Guida had no feelings for Tony.
So the fact that she actually called the police
shows to me that she was concerned enough for his welfare.
[narrator] Even though the relationship isn't ideal,
Guida sticks with it.
She still wants a baby
and Tony Roberts is her best bet.
Two years of relative stability follows before finally Guida's dream comes true.
I think we found out in March, April, she was having a baby.
So she had the photograph that you have
when you have your scan
and then she published on Facebook.
I was ecstatic 'cause I wanted to have a grandchild.
I was really happy.
And I think they were very happy as well.
She was very excited.
Yeah, she was impossible.
[gentle music]
[narrator] But not everything is as it seems.
During the pregnancy relationship issues resurface
and Guida begins suffering panic attacks.
She sees her doctor,
but she keeps the facts hidden from her family.
Everything on the surface seemed to be okay
between Tony and Guida.
Sometimes he would not turn up
for barbecue lunch or lunch
and we would ask, "Oh, what's happened to Tony?"
She would say, "Oh, Tony went to see his mother."
So we didn't think anything of it.
[gentle music]
[narrator] Outwardly things appear perfect.
It's in 2013, when Guida has a daughter.
An emotional day for Cecilia.
I was the first person to hold the baby.
I went there first, next day in the morning
and about 10 o'clock.
There are things I remember really well
and I just sat and hold the baby.
You know, I was just really, really happy.
[narrator] Guida has finally got the baby she craved.
Everything she wanted in the world.
You know, just to have a child.
[narrator] But a new baby means a new way of life
and Tony is not ready for the change.
I don't think he realized how much pressure it was
looking after a child, 24/7.
When they were out together before she got pregnant,
I think things were reasonable
because they wanted the same things.
But when she got pregnant and she had a child,
he still wanted the same thing as before.
[gentle music]
[narrator] By 36, Guida's enjoying motherhood.
She absolutely loved being a mom.
Well I think over all the work that she did
was the best job that she ever did.
You could just see it in her eyes.
Everything was about her.
Everything was about being a mom.
Oh, she was a devoted mother.
Yeah, she was very devoted,
devoted to her, yes.
[narrator] As she gets to know fellow mom, Nik Davidson, at the local baby group,
the pair become friends.
We hit it off straight away and it was nice to speak to another mom
that was an older mum
'cause that's what we were classed as, older mums.
She was very straightforward.
You knew where he stood with her.
She was kind, generous.
[narrator] To Nik, Tony appears just fine.
He was quiet. He wasn't overly loud.
He was quite shy. He used to blush.
He seemed really nice.
Yeah, really genuine person from what I saw.
Guida and Tony were what seemed an amazing couple.
Happy family, a nice life, a nice house, a child.
Everything that you'd ever wish for.
[narrator] But the cracks which had surfaced
around the time Tony
threatened to take his own life reappeared.
His drive for success is limited compared to Guida's.
[Nik] He was a teaching assistant.
He never went any further with that,
which I think was a little bit frustrating.
[tense music]
[Paul] Guida and Tony were chalk and cheese.
Guida was highly successful, very driven,
quite feisty on occasions.
Tony on the other hand,
was possibly quite immature.
You know, he lived with his mother until he was 35.
He's probably an underachiever
in comparison to what Guida had achieved.
[narrator] There are money pressures.
Tony's pay doesn't cover the bills.
Guida returns to work six months
after the birth of their daughter.
And it was her earning the wage
and him having to stay home as a dad.
Tony had the intention of living a lifestyle
that was funded by Guida
and living off, not only her, but her parents' wealth.
[narrator] But staying home with the baby is not something Tony Roberts finds easy.
We did try to get him out to the baby groups with us,
you know, for the support and to, you know,
for him to interact with everybody rather than just being at home.
But I do think that it did become uneasy
the longer it lasted him being at home.
[narrator] Guida becomes the main breadwinner
and the homemaker.
It's not an easy time for the couple.
Having a baby is something that she thought
her and Tony wanted to do together,
but she feels like she's doing it on her own,
which has left her feeling disappointed and frustrated.
So it was her job, really, to make sure that the home was taken care of,
that when he needed a break she had to pay the additional childcare.
And I think it was a big thing because it was mentioned a fair few times.
[suspenseful music]
[narrator] Tony is also frustrated.
Finally living independently from mom and dad
has not given him the independence that he wants.
When we think about the relationship dynamics,
Tony might have actually struggled with being a stay-at-home dad.
He may have seen it as a front to his masculinity
and his power and potency and the fact that actually he wasn't able
to control as much as he would like to in the relationship.
She had full, full control really, of the family.
She made sure everybody was taken care of.
He seemed to have little control.
[narrator] Guida continues to hide her relationship struggles
from her family and friends.
There were times where he would not come
and Guida would make some excuses.
I didn't think too much of it,
but obviously that was a sign
that things were not right.
I just never saw it really.
I didn't see anything that would cause alarm.
It was general partner...
disputes, I suppose.
The main thing over money,
which most couples have.
[uneasy music]
[narrator] Tensions are coming to a head.
There are hints of violence with Guida, the alleged attacker.
Tony spoke to a health worker
and reported that Guida had by text,
told him that she wanted to hurt him
and she was also withholding money for him.
Having had the information from the health visitor,
the police go and visit Tony
to get an account from him
to find out exactly what has gone on
between him and and Guida.
And surprisingly, when they speak to Tony,
he's actually changed his account slightly.
He said, "Look, you know,
I may have said I was assaulted but I wasn't.
Actually what she's been doing is keeping money from me
and actually I don't want her spoken to in relation to this."
[narrator] The allegations melt away.
Throughout this time
Guida is unaware of what Tony's been saying.
[tense music]
Remarkably, matters settle down between the couple.
They are unmarried as they experience
the turbulence of becoming parents.
But that's about to change.
Guida and Tony's relationship actually did continue to progress
and Tony proposed and they became engaged.
Guida was so excited and happy by the news
that she actually shared it on Facebook
and shared a picture of the ring.
They would've got engaged and in fact share the...
a nice ring on her finger, which she's shown.
[narrator] Soon after, Cecilia is confused
when she notices that Guida is not wearing the ring.
I asked Guida, "Where is the ring?" and she wouldn't say anything.
So my only conclusion
was that the ring was not, he did not buy the ring.
Well he couldn't afford it
and he borrowed it off somebody.
[narrator] Guida's mom has her doubts about Tony's motives for marriage.
[Cecilia] Your life will be assured if you marry the rich woman
or somebody who has a property.
And he had nothing.
So from a financial point of view,
it would be good for him to marry her.
His life would be secured.
[tense music]
[narrator] But he's not about to marry the rich girl.
The wedding plans are put on hold.
Guida appears in work showing signs of being attacked.
She's just got bruising. She was quite badly hurt.
She had fallen down stairs allegedly.
[dramatic music]
[Cecilia] She seemed quiet.
And her eyes were really caved.
They were really brown down here, you know.
And I thought, "It's not like Guida normally."
There's been a number of incidents that are starting to emerge,
not necessarily where the police are involved all the time,
but certainly where friends and family are starting to pick up on certain things.
And it's only a matter of time before something goes bang
and something seriously goes wrong.
[tense music]
[narrator] It is Christmas time and the couple makes up.
When situations like Christmas or holidays come,
there's a real sense of emptiness.
And so you go back to what's familiar thinking that things will be different.
But the situation remains the same
as we see more of the same outcome.
[narrator] But the stresses in the couple's relationship
soon resurface.
For murder squad detectives,
it's a familiar pattern.
Relationships become more volatile
and Guida is increasingly feeling unsafe.
Volatile relationships are extremely dangerous.
You know, these are highly emotional charged situations
where you've got people that effectively love each other
but just aren't getting on.
And it's those little things
that can tip people over the edge.
And sometimes it's that chip, chip effect that's going on.
[narrator] For Guida, this is not the family life
that she envisaged.
She seeks help from a therapist
but is still keeping things hidden from her mother, Cecilia.
I knew nothing about
whatever else was happening in the relationship
'cause that wasn't shared with me.
Every six weeks we were away.
So we didn't see her as often as we might have seen
if we were here all the time.
Guida was relatively private in her thoughts.
She didn't share an awful lot with her friends or family
about what was actually going on between her and Tony.
[narrator] But Cecilia senses something is not right
during a visit in January.
I saw that Guida was not her normal self.
That physically she appeared to be drawn.
Her face showed that.
[narrator] Guida makes plans to split from Tony.
She's taken this decision that she's had enough of Tony
and that he needs to leave.
And we don't know what that trigger was at that particular point.
But obviously something's been building up over a number of months, if not years.
[narrator] Tony does not react well to the news.
He stands to lose a lot in the breakup.
He relied on her financially, but also they had a child as well.
And I think, you know, when you are being told
that you are splitting with up your partner
and a child is involved,
all sorts of things can go through your mind.
You know, am I ever gonna see my child again?
Particularly where Guida was the breadwinner,
you know, she was strong, successful, could probably argue her case
very articulately in a family court
if that needed to be done.
And I think Tony could just see things slipping away from him.
[Roberta] Tony's been rejected.
He's not only been rejected, he has been ejected.
He no longer has a home, he no longer has a relationship.
Even potentially his relationship with his daughter
might be brought into question.
So you can see how this is a real trigger for Tony.
[narrator] Guida has concerns about Tony.
She takes precautions to protect herself and her daughter.
She prevents Tony from getting into the family home.
She took a really positive step by changing the locks.
And for me, that really shows
that she was sending a clear message to Tony
that this is definitely over.
This isn't a tiff, you know, where we've just had an argument
and one of us takes off and then we come back the next day
and we kiss and makeup and everything's gonna be,
go through the whole thing again.
This is a clear message to Tony saying,
"You are not welcome in this house anymore.
It is over."
[dramatic music]
[narrator] Guida has become fearful of Tony Roberts.
She asks a friend for help.
She is aware of his volatility
and actually asks a friend to stay
because she doesn't feel safe enough to be alone.
Clearly Guida was concerned how Tony would react to that.
And so she wanted a friend there
to support her and also look out for her.
[narrator] Knowing she is alone in the home with her daughter,
Guida's friend agrees to stay for the weekend.
With Guida's friend being aware of the situation
to the extent she's now part of the situation
because she's coming to stay in the family home,
it really signals the fact that something has changed.
Something has changed irreversibly, if you'd like.
And it also signals that Tony no longer has control
over the space that he did.
Guida has now been a little bit more open with her friends and family and that,
and she's starting to paint a picture
that things just aren't happy at home with her and Tony.
[tense music]
[narrator] News of the couple's separation reaches Guida's parents.
They still have no idea that their daughter
is escaping a violent relationship.
On the 30th of January, Guida contacted her father
to tell him she was leaving Tony.
I was quite shocked about it.
I thought they will be so much better for my granddaughter
to have a father and the mother than just the mother.
I was sad that things had come to an end.
[narrator] So is Tony Roberts.
Tony's left with nothing.
He doesn't really have anything to lose.
He can go back to his parents' house, but that signals failure.
What does he have to show for the years that he spent with Guida?
Nothing.
He's furious that this woman
has taken everything that he feels he's entitled to.
[narrator] Guida attempts to keep Roberts calm
by agreeing that he can have their daughter
stay with him for the night.
[Cecilia] On Saturday he came and collected my granddaughter
to go to his house.
[tense music]
[narrator] Guida and her friend are at the house
when Tony returns the following day to drop their daughter back home.
And on Sunday he came back.
It was about after four o'clock, between four and five
and he came, he came to the house and he says,
"Oh, can I come in?"
[narrator[] For forensic psychologists, this is a dangerous time.
He was ruminating and thinking about what had been done to him,
the injustice, the sense of rejection,
which probably fueled his anger.
[narrator] He returns to the house without the couple's daughter.
Guida did not want to let him in, but she eventually agreed to let him in.
He was clearly angry. He had some words with Guida
and then very quickly punched her
right in front of the presence of the friend.
He was almost in this rage where he really didn't care who was there
and what was going on.
The violence that Tony inflicted on Guida, it was one way for him to assert power,
control in the relationship
and essentially connect with his sense of potency.
[narrator] Roberts uses duct tape to tie Guida up.
Her friend watches on in horror.
[dramatic music]
He punched her in the stomach, he bound her arms and legs.
And the friend tried to intervene on a number of occasions
and tried to talk Tony down.
But he wasn't having any of that, you know.
In fact he actually used physical violence
against the friend as well.
[narrator] The two women are defenseless against Roberts.
Guida was small and slim
and Tony was over six foot and built.
He could overpower her at any time.
[Paul] You gotta remember Tony was a big man.
You know, he used to go to the gym
and both Guida and her friend
were quite slight females.
So this would've been an extremely frightening
and an intimidating situation.
[narrator] Guida pleads with her friend
to call the police.
Guida herself is helpless against Roberts
who moves her to the next room.
And she was actually placed in another room
and then bound with duct tape.
And then all she could do
was hear Guida pleading with Tony
and there's some sort of altercation taking place.
The playroom and the living room were very, very close together.
We used to play there with the girls so close.
I cannot imagine what the person
on the other side of that door
was doing or feeling at that moment.
[dramatic music continues]
[narrator] Guida's friend can hear her ordeal.
He had an attention and he was in the moment.
And in that moment he was filled with so much rage
that he was intent on ending Guida's life.
And then suddenly Guida went quiet.
Then she couldn't hear Tony's voice at all.
She felt it was safe to then try and escape.
She managed to break free of the duct tape herself.
[narrator] Guida's friend escapes to a neighboring house
and raises the alarm.
Police control room receive a 999 call from a distressed female
saying that she'd been in a house
where her friend had been attacked by her partner
and she's managed to flee the address,
but she doesn't know whether her friend is alive or dead.
[gentle sombre music]
[narrator] At 11:00 PM Cecilia receives
a devastating phone call from her son David.
I heard the phone going
and I wasn't listening to what he was saying
'cause he was talking very quietly
and he said it was David on the phone
and Guida is dead.
And I just kind of sat up and I says,
"What do you mean she's dead?"
[narrator] Cecilia heads straight to Guida's house.
It was nearly midnight.
I got out and I went to the house.
But obviously I wasn't allowed to go in.
You know, it's just the instinct, you know,
you just go there thinking you can do something.
It's still time to do something,
to go and see my daughter, see what's happened.
You know, even wondering is it true?
You know, how can it this be possible?
[narrator] Police have discovered both Roberts and Guida dead at the property.
Having established that you've now got two bodies in this address,
both have succumbed to some sort of violent injury,
you're thinking, "What has actually happened here?"
[narrator] Guida's friend recounts the harrowing details
of the brutal attack to officers.
Having spoken to this witness,
the police quickly established
that what they're leading with now
is a murder-suicide investigation.
[narrator] Guida's friends and family
only now become aware of Robert's abuse of Guida
earlier in their relationship.
How come all of a sudden
from saying, you know,
"I'm gonna split up with Tony"
to actually being killed by Tony.
That's just, and that happens in the space of a day.
[tense music]
[narrator] News of the tragedy begins to filter out.
I didn't believe it at first.
It was really hard to accept,
because on the outside...
I couldn't understand how that could be.
Um...
It was shocking, really shocking.
I had to phone a friend at work
and tell them the news,
which was heartbreaking.
Um...
And after that it was just kind of,
you were living kind of in a daze.
You didn't know that time was passing you by.
You didn't know what was happening.
[narrator] Police confirm nobody else is involved.
For friends, the awfulness of events is a shock.
[gentle sombre music]
We were trying to figure out, well, how could that be?
Because all I've seen is happy family,
a nice life, a nice house, a child,
everything that you'd ever wish for.
So it were really difficult hearing that it was within the home.
[narrator] For police, a mystery to unravel.
There's obviously victimology that will be done on Guida.
So they would look back on her history, speak to her friends and family,
see what history she has with the police.
And obviously what would then be uncovered is
this tit for tat sort of calls going into the police that would show
that actually this probably was a volatile relationship
and things were starting to escalate to get into a really bad place.
[narrator] The revelations are difficult for Guida's friends and family.
The person I saw in Tony when I met him
was not the person that person was really in reality.
He was a completely different person.
You know, he was controlling,
he was evil, was conniving,
he was withholding things from her,
he was lying to her.
I did wonder how much I knew him as a person,
because he seemed so nice, he seemed so friendly.
He seemed like a good partner, a good dad.
And then you start to question, is it a front?
What was he like behind closed doors?
What was she going through that you didn't know
that you could have helped with?
[narrator] As they probe, police uncover
how Guida had tried to end the relationship.
They also reveal a man no one in Guida's circle knew about.
Guida's mom hears how Roberts had reacted
after a previous breakup.
So he is a violent, kind of violent man.
But obviously nobody knew. We did not know anything about it.
[narrator] Police uncover the planning that Roberts has put into his crime.
He's seen on CCTV purchasing duct tape.
From speaking to the witness and also looking at Guida,
it was apparent that Tony brought some duct tape with him
to control both the females.
For me, that shows an element of premeditation.
You know, he was going around there with an intention to exert
some kind of control over Guida.
He may not have known the friend was gonna be there,
but he had no hesitation
in using that duct tape on the friend as well.
[narrator] Further evidence of premeditation is revealed
during the post-mortem on Tony Roberts.
Tony, his injuries were a single knife wound to his leg.
And what was really unusual about Tony's wound
is that he'd actually drawn on his leg
this is where I need to cut myself if I'm gonna take my own life.
[tense music]
So a very deliberate and chilling
set of circumstances, I would suggest.
And there's something about the finality of taking your life following a murder,
which shows that you've done everything that you needed to do, the job's done.
[narrator] Robert's death is officially classified.
He has taken his own life.
The circumstances of Guida's death
are difficult for her family and friends to take.
How somebody's planned it so carefully
and kill himself.
What kind of person does that?
What kind of person is able to kill
the mother of a child and then kill himself?
I can't even comprehend how he came to that solution.
I can't begin to.
I think it'd take a despicable human being
to come to that conclusion that that was the only out solution.
I can only think that he thought he was gonna lose everything.
So then he took everything.
[narrator] The post-mortem report on Guida
reveals the level of violence that she was subjected to.
Guida's injuries were extremely severe.
She had multiple bruises
and fractures about her body,
which would suggest that she took quite a beating
using physical force.
But she also had some knife wounds as well.
And it was quite clear there were some defensive injuries,
which would suggest that Guida, you know,
was attempting to fight off her attacker
at that particular time.
[narrator] The details of the report are too painful for Cecilia.
Definitely, yeah.
It was quite shocking thing to read.
I couldn't read it.
I just couldn't do it.
Just too harrowing for me to read.
[narrator] The witness who had heard the attack
offers a statement which adds to the harrowing picture
of Guida's final moments.
The attack on Guida was extremely ferocious
and ambitious and must have been
extremely frightening for Guida.
We know she didn't die straight away.
She was subjected to this brutal physical assault by Tony.
She was bound and gagged.
She was stabbed on a number of occasions.
She'd have fought with every ounce of her being
to get out of that situation.
He must have been in a frenzy for her
not to be able to protect herself against that.
To live through that, knowing what was going on,
and also for her friend to be witnessing this
and hearing this going on
and not being in a position to intervene,
must have been extremely frightening and harrowing.
[tense music]
[Nik] I think she'd have been thinking, "My daughter."
She would've been in the forefront of her mind the whole time
and I cannot imagine what she were...
what she were going through at that moment.
[narrator] They had become lovers, begun a family.
A family forever devastated.
Effectively, he is leaving his child as an orphan,
which is extremely tragic to think about.
No.
One could never forgive somebody like that.
Anyway, he's gone out of this world.
He means absolutely nothing.
You know, who wants to know about Tony?
[narrator] As she comes to terms with what happened to Guida,
Cecilia daily revisits why her daughter had kept the abuse that she had suffered
hidden for so long.
I know she was a strong person like me
and I believe that she thought
she could control the situation,
she was strong enough to deal with him.
But obviously she wasn't.
[narrator] For Guida's friend, Nik,
the tragedy is one that has shaken her judgment in people.
It's a very difficult thing to know that a partner could do that,
somebody you trust, somebody you rely on,
somebody that you trust your child with,
somebody that is there all the time
to then do that.
It's...
I think it made us all question
our own relationships at the time.
[Cecilia] Cannot comprehend that in this world
there are evil people like this.
In all my years of life,
I've never come across people like that.
You know, you watch programs on television,
but they all seem to be so detached from your own life
and you never for a moment think
anything like that could happen to you,
your family, your friends, your neighbors.
I wanted other people to know,
to stop other young people being murdered
at the hands of violent partners.
[gentle sombre music]
[narrator] Guida lives on through her daughter.
My granddaughter is very much like Guida, like her mother.
Very outgoing, very kind.
She loves life.
She loves to do things.
She loves to go out with me to the park,
to the theater.
[narrator] Special memories are also cherished.
[Nik] I remember being there once.
We were in the playroom
and she dressed the girls up
in this big trunk of dressing up clothes.
Now looking back, I can see on Facebook,
she'd been shown photos,
she had a lot of feather boas
and a lot of different hats and lots of different clothes,
and she kept a trunk
and she wanted that to go to her daughter.
And she dressed the girls up in all these outfits
and we took a lot of pictures of them
and I always remember that, that being a really nice day,
because it showed how she was a bit of a party girl before
and how she wanted to pass all these memories
onto her little girl.
After Guida died,
I went into her property and took everything away,
which I thought was important for her daughter
to see in the future.
You know, the clothes when she was pregnant.
Some of the clothes she wore.
Her rings.
I've got her rings.
I've got a ring I gave her as well.
And these are the things that I would like my granddaughter
to have when she grows old,
when she's able to understand how important they could be in her life,
to have memories of her mother.
It was always fun.
It was always, everything was a game.
She liked the piano.
She used to get the piano out for the girls
and they used to play on the piano, make loads of noise,
and it was always happy.
That's the thing. It was always happy.
[Cecilia] She was very lively, very intelligent,
very outgoing, full of life.
Such a tremendous personality, very popular.
You know, I miss seeing this glow in her face
and the laughs, the jokes.
[gentle sombre music]
[intense dramatic music]