'I was going to die': Harrowing story of a young woman trapped in abusive relationship and almost bashed to death by her boyfriend because she wore a BIKINI to son's swimming lesson

Jaide Francis had it all - glamorous looks, a loving boyfriend, a beautiful son, and a new house they hoped to turn into a home.

But what appeared to be a dream life was a nightmare behind closed doors involving guns, violence, bloody visits to hospitals, desperate calls to police and finally being bashed while heavily pregnant by her boyfriend and father of her child. 

James Comiskey - the man she fell in love with at work and moved states for to start a new life - had become controlling and abusive leaving her fearing for her life.

'Throughout the relationship it was an absolute roller coaster,' she said after surviving 12 months with her ex-boyfriend.

'I felt like I was drowning but I held on because I had hope that things would get better.'

They didn't - and it almost cost Ms Francis her life. 

Jaide has opened up to Daily Mail Australia about their volatile relationship, which began passionately in the heat of Emerald, Queensland and took her to the cooler climate of Cooma in southern NSW where it ended in bloodshed.

Jaide Samara, 23, became caught in a volatile relationship after her boyfriend James Comiskey turned abusive

YOUNG LOVE

Jaide met James, both now 23, in January 2019 while working in the small country town of Emerald, west of Rockhampton.

'We became inseparable and spent every second we could together,' she said.

She found out she was pregnant in March that year but the joy was quickly followed by shock and sadness as the relationship spiraled into bitterness.

'James became very controlling and emotionally abusive,' she said.

She said he called her 'damaged goods' and couldn't wait until she became 'fat and ugly' so no one else would look at her. 

Jaide held on to hope that bringing a baby into the world would change James for the better.

'When I was at breaking point and ready to walk away from the relationship, James would then turn into the person I fell madly in love with,' she said.

James would suddenly be nice, gentle, caring, funny and sweet - the man she envisioned being with for the rest of her life.

'He made me feel loved and at home but then within two weeks it would be at an all time low again,' she said.

'I'd be called the most horrendous names and be made to feel as if I was nothing but dirt on the bottom of his shoes.'

Jaide had to beg James to take her to hospital after she was knocked unconscious at their home in Cooma, in southern NSW

Jaide was subject to physical, verbal and emotional abuse from James throughout their 22-month relationship

LEFT ISOLATED 

Unhappy working as a ringer in Emerald, James took a new job as a stockman in Cooma, just five hours from where he grew up in Bathurst but more than 2,000km from Jaide's home town of Townsville.

'I was extremely scared and nervous about the idea of being so far away from my family,' she said.

Their home, isolated in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, had little phone reception and even fewer neighbours.

There was just a mattress, a fireplace and dreams of raising their son and watching him run down the hallway of their new home.

'We spent the whole night imagining how our lives would grow within those walls... but just like every dream, you soon have to wake up,' Jaide said.

When Jaide was in her third trimester the abuse returned, forcing her to seek the comfort of a local social worker despite James' disapproval.

Jaide Francis was 36 weeks pregnant when she was bashed and almost left for dead by her partner James Comiskey

ABUSE TURNS PHYSICAL  

Jaide will never forget October 25, 2019.

She snuggled into bed for the night as her boyfriend laid next to her and began cuddling.

She pushed him away and asked to be left alone but was instead grilled about what was causing her to be upset.

He aggressively rolled her on to her back and with an open hand struck her across the face.   

Jaide said she burst into tears and ran into a spare room to seek shelter before fleeing the property.

With nowhere to go, she called the maternity ward at Cooma Hospital and asked if she could stay the night.

James arrived the next day and verbally abused her while saying she was 'pathetic' for leaving him.   

Feeling like no one could help her, she downplayed the horror situation and returned to their home where she locked herself in a spare room to avoid another incident.

Their son Valentine was born on November 7, 2019 but the birth did little to change their relationship.

On New Year's Eve he attacked her, smashing her head and choking her. In the new year the abuse escalated.  Finally, she decided it was time to leave.

'James absolutely lost it and he ended up punching holes into our bathroom door,' Jaide said.

She went home to Townsville but returned to Cooma when James agreed to meet with her social worker.

An AVO was taken out against James to protect Jaide and her son Valentine following a torturous year

THE FIGHT OVER A BIKINI

Jaide took Valentine for his first swimming lesson but when she came home James confronted her, demanding to know what she wore.

When he found out she wore a bikini he became furious, eventually throwing her to the ground.

'He said that I was disrespectful towards him because I wore bikinis and that he was insecure,' Jaide said. 

While on the ground she screamed for him to get off her and hit him on the chest before 'everything went black'.

'I was screaming and covered and dripping in blood when I woke up,' she said.

Jaide called an ambulance after James refused to get help and then grabbed his gun threatening to harm himself because he didn't want to go to jail.

She went after him and eventually calmed him down by agreeing to a cover story to avoid any repercussions.

'I was terrified that I was going to lose too much blood and die, so I convinced James to drive me to the hospital,' she said.

She told police at the hospital she had fallen off the back of a ute and smashed her face on a rock.

But the eight stitches around her mouth, the fractured nose, bruised eyes and chipped teeth were just a veil over her mental scars.

She phoned her mother who pleaded with her to end the traumatic relationship and return home. 

Jaide was beaten up and was left with a fractured nose, bruised eye, and chipped teeth which needed surgery

Jaide and James (pictured together) were madly in love but things took a savage turn when James became controlling and emotionally abusive 

Jaide's cheek had a red mark from when James slapped her with an open hand after she told him to leave her alone in bed

HELP ARRIVES    

A midnight visit from police while in hospital finally gave Jaide a light at the end of the tunnel. 

The officers informed her they had a tip-off that her story wasn't real and handed her AVO papers to protect her and Valentine from James. 

'I never cried so hard in my life. I was no longer able to speak with James and I never received the closure I needed from him,' she said. 

Jaide's social worker and mother continually visited her at hospital and encouraged her to tell the police the truth.  

After six agonising days, she finally opened up to police about her harrowing experience and the abuse she had endured.

Jaide packed her bags to head home to Townsville with baby Valentine to escape her nightmare. 

'I cried from physical and emotional pain that could be felt by anyone that heard,' she said.

'I cried because of the loss of a life that I had pictured and envisioned for my one day 'happy family'.

'The sight of my injuries broke my heart into a million pieces every time, knowing that someone I loved and gave my whole heart to was the main cause behind it all.' 

Jaide and James met at her workplace on January 6, 2019 in Emerald, Queensland but officially started dating on February 3

JUSTICE

Jaide was back in the safety of her home town but still reeling from the hurt she had suffered.

'I was unable to go out in public and was housebound for months as I was ashamed and embarrassed of the bruises and the damage James caused to my face,' she said.

She underwent reconstruction surgery to her teeth but was left with permanent scarring to her lips.

She began rebuilding her life as a single mother but still had one last task before she could truly move on. 

James was aggressive to the point that he would punch and kick holes through doors and throw objects at Jaide 

'I had to go through the abuse in detail every month with the police and DPP for court hearings. James was arrested but soon after released on bail,' she said.

James was eventually arrested and after an excruciating nine months in front of the courts, pleaded guilty to common assault, strangulation and recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm. 

He was finally sentenced on November 9, 2020 to 16 months in jail with six months no parole but is appealing the severity of the sentence. 

'I never in my life thought that I would be in an abusive relationship and I never thought that James would hurt me this bad,' Jaide said. 

'I was extremely lucky that he didn't take my life.'