A woman has shared text messages she exchanged with a former flame – hours before he allegedly killed a school teacher he’d met on the same dating app.
Ashley Gaddie, 33, is accused of murdering Dannielle Finlay-Jones, 31, at a house in Cranebrook in western Sydney on Sunday after she introduced him to her friends at a pub the night before.
As police launched an investigation into Ms Finlay-Jones’ death, Karla Tauro, 25, was outside Gaddie’s Five Dock apartment 50km away in Sydney’s inner-west to collect her belongings after she ended their whirlwind romance two days earlier.
The tradesman was allegedly on the run for 48 hours before he was cornered by police on a clifftop in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday afternoon. The stand-off lasted almost 12 hours.
He was finally arrested after midnight on Wednesday and taken to Katoomba Police Station, where he will be charged with murder today.
Ms Tauro broke her silence about the relationship with Gaddie after their paths first crossed on Tinder in late November.
‘I’ve had a rollercoaster of emotions and high anxiety the past couple of days since last speaking to the suspect,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
Karla Tauro (pictured) dated Ashley Gaddie for three weeks before ending the whirlwind relationship last Friday
Ashley Gaddie was on the run for 48 hours before police cornered him on a clifftop in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday afternoon in a stand-off that lasted 12 hours
Ms Tauro told The Daily Telegraph that the romance moved so quickly Gaddie cleared out several drawers for her after she spent four consecutive nights at his place.
The pair dated for three weeks before Ms Tauro told him last Friday she wanted to end the relationship after a series of escalating arguments.
She also asked when she could come and collect her belongings left at his home, writing: ‘Probably for the better. Cause I don’t think you want this anymore.’
Gaddie finally replied the next day.
‘Tomorrow arvo’s good for you? I’m not going to beg you to stay,’ he texted at 7.47pm Saturday.
That text was sent on the same night Gaddie met up with Ms Finlay-Jones and was introduced to her friends at The Marsden Brewhouse in Marsden Park.
‘I was the last person this guy had been in contact with,’ Ms Tauro told the Telegraph.
‘I had most recently had a conversation with him on Saturday night. I was organising with him to retrieve some of my belongings from his house.
Ms Tauro said the romance moved so quickly Gaddie cleared out several drawers for her after she spent four consecutive nights at his place (pictured is a mock-up of their text exchange)
Karla and Gaddie’s final text exchange which ended with him telling her she could pick up her belongings
Karla Tauro (pictured) went to Ashley Gaddie’s home on Sunday but he wasn’t home. She finally found out why when homicide detectives came to her home on Monday
On Sunday afternoon, Ms Tauro texted Gaddie to say she was on her way and again outside his unit when he didn’t answer the door, before releasing he wasn’t home.
She had no idea why he wasn’t home until a homicide detective turned up at her home on Monday, she told the news outlet.
‘My face just dropped. My stomach completely sank and dropped.’
Meanwhile, loved ones have left a growing number of heartfelt tributes for much-loved murdered teacher and football coach Ms Finlay-Jones continues.
Ms Finlay-Jones was the senior vice president for women at Ramsgate RSL Football Club in Sydney’s south.
‘The news of the passing has left us all in a state of shock and disbelief,’
‘Dannielle was a beautiful person, a life member of the club who was much loved and very well respected not only within our immediate football community but also throughout the Football St George association.
Dannielle Finlay-Jones, 31, (pictured) was found dead at her friend’s Cranebrook home on Sunday, sparking a manhunt for her alleged killer
A police operation was launched in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday afternoon as a 12 hour stand-off with Ashley Gaddie
Daily Mail Australia exclusively obtained Gaddie’s Tinder profile
‘Her tireless and unselfish commitment to football within the community, particularly women’s football, will be sorely missed and her legacy will be everlasting.
‘Our deep and respectful condolences go to her family especially her mother Jacky.’
Arncliffe Aurora FC also paid tribute.
‘Words just fail. After the tragic death of Dannielle Finlay -Jones…all of us here at AAFC would like to extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to her family and freinds at this very difficult time. Especially to her mother Jacky who must be going through things she never thought she would be faced with.
‘May her soul rest in eternal peace.’
On Tuesday night, response squads swarmed the area with specially trained police negotiators engaged with the alleged fugitive perched at the top of one of the precarious clifftops at Fletcher’s Lookout.
Police described the situation as an ongoing self-harm incident continue well into the night before Gaddie was finally arrested around 12am Wednesday.
A manhunt for Gaddie was launched after his date Ms Finlay-Jones was found dead with severe head injuries at a friend’s Cranebrook home in western Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
Neighbours reported seeing a man climbing from a window and running from the house around 5am that morning.
Ms Finlay-Jones met up with Gaddie at The Marsden Brewhouse, in Marsden Park, on Saturday night after the pair recently met online
Police tape surrounded a home on Borrowdale Way, Cranebrook, on Monday as homicide detectives investigate the death of Dannielle Finlay-Jones
Daily Mail Australia earlier exclusively revealed how he wooed women on dating app Tinder with mirror selfies and photos of himself cuddling puppies.
Gaddie’s dating app profile features a gallery of pictures showing the tradie posing in hi-vis, kissing dogs and going on hikes.
In the ‘interests’ section, Gaddie boasts that he loves ‘sushi, travel, road trips, hiking, and the gym’.
In one photo, Gaddie can be seen posing in a light grey singlet and shorts inside an elevator as he takes a mirror selfie.
Other images show him wearing protective gear as he works on a construction site, on a nature walk, and taking a selfie with a waterfall in the background.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
Lifeline 13 11 14
In the ‘interests’ section of his Tinder profile (pictured) Gaddie boasts that he loves ‘sushi, travel, road trips, hiking, and the gym’
Ms Finlay-Jones was a teacher and was actively involved in female football
