Heinze, 61, was found guilty of kidnapping, endangering life, causing harm with intent to cause harm and assault charges over an attack on two international backpackers on February 9 last year.
During the trial, the court heard a Brazilian backpacker was found naked and screaming for help on a beach in South Australia’s Coorong region and the other backpacker, a German woman, was found covered head to toe in blood.
The court heard the two women, both now aged 24, each thought they were going to die during the attack.
The two young women only met each other in the days prior through a mutual friend, and decided to travel together as they both wanted to see the sights along the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne.
Heinze met the women after responding to an advertisement the Brazilian woman put on the website Gumtree looking for a lift for the trip.
Not your victim
The German woman told her attacker, in a recorded statement played to the court, she would never be his victim because she was a survivor.
“I want you to know, Roman, that you could not defeat me, you could not break me,” she said.
“You could not win even when you tried so hard, first by hitting me on the head with the hammer then by driving over me with your car.
“You could not make me your victim because I am a survivor. This has only made me stronger than I have ever been. It showed me what I’m capable of.”
The woman said she came to Australia to travel, work, meet “awesome people” and experience unforgettable things.
“I did have unforgettable memories, but in a negative way,” she said.
She said she was no longer carefree and trusting of others.
“I’m always aware that it could happen again. I mistrust people, I am in fear someone wants to attack me again.”
She said she felt betrayed by Heinze.
“At the time of the incident, I experienced the most intense feelings I ever had — panic, adrenaline, fear for my life, fear that I had to die when I did not want to die yet,” she said.
The woman told the court she felt incredibly sad and unable to believe someone could prey on vulnerable people.
“I felt so lonesome because I couldn’t share the experience with anyone,” she said.
“But you could not take what Australia meant to me … I know this crime has nothing to do with the country but only with [you].”
Parents worried about solo travel plan
Before she left Germany for Australia, the woman said her parents had expressed fears about her plan to travel alone.
“Their worst nightmare became true with this,” she said.
“My mum was suffering a lot from this incident and could neither eat nor sleep anymore for months.
“It was the same for me — it is still hard to realise this happened.”
The young woman said she was haunted by nightmares and paranoia.
“I was going through the horror so many times,” she said.
“I was suffering from PTSD and felt limited in my life as I was reminded of it when I saw hammers and when I heard young women screaming.”
Heinze emotionless in dock
Heinze showed no emotion as the court heard victim impact statements.
The Brazilian backpacker also told the court of her ongoing trauma since the attack.
“After the sexual assault I was waking up in the middle of the night, scared, imagining that someone was breaking in. If my partner wasn’t home I wouldn’t leave my room,” she said.
“If I heard an unexplained noise I would break down crying.
“Every day, I see where the ropes cut into me. I feel fear even when I smell cigarette smoke — Roman smoked.”
During the trial, the court was told Heinze tied the Brazilian woman’s hands behind her back, cut off her bikini with a knife, punched her in the head and sexually assaulted her on the beach.
It heard he then attacked the German woman with a hammer when she went to her friend’s aid and rammed her several times with his four-wheel drive.
In another case, Heinze pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting another woman less than two years earlier.
And in a further case, he was found not guilty of rape and false imprisonment charges against a former girlfriend.
The current proceedings were told about Heinze indecently assaulting a young woman he met via Gumtree less than two years before the Salt Creek attack.
That woman, in her victim impact statement, said she had not thought Heinze would hurt her because he was the same age as her own father…
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