A domestic violence survivor’s fight for change takes centre stage on tonight’s 60 Minutes, as a woman who narrowly escaped death campaigns to ensure others have access to information she believes could save lives.
Also coming up, Tara Brown revisits the remarkable story of Cleo Smith, finding the young Western Australian thriving almost five years after her rescue.
NEED TO KNOW
Anthony Monteleone is a truly contemptible, vicious human being. His complete opposite is Maria, a kind and caring single mother of three young boys.
When the two first met however, Monteleone fooled Maria into believing he was a good man. Â But just a few weeks into their relationship, she realised the truth when Monteleone tried and nearly succeeded in stabbing her to death.
As she recovered from her wounds, what this incredibly brave woman also discovered was that he had a violent past. She says if she had known about it, she never would have gone near him in the first place.Â
As Dimity Clancey reports, because of her near-death experience, Maria is now determined to protect other women by campaigning to have the abusive histories of domestic violence perpetrators made public.
Reported by Dimity Clancey and produced by Anne Worthington.
CLEO
It’s always a pleasure to report good news, and this Sunday, 60 Minutes has a very special story update.
Remember Cleo Smith? She’s the little girl who was abducted from her parent’s tent at a remote Western Australian beach back in 2021, and held for 18 days by a drug-addled drifter, before being rescued in a massive police operation.
Well, almost five years on, Cleo is thriving.
