Karen Bell met Gary Poxon in 1993. She was 17, he was 29.

By 2008, the pair were living in an isolated farmhouse in Pericoe with their three children - Maddie, Jack and Bon. Their 15 year long relationship was filled with emotional and physical abuse, with multiple AVOs taken out against Gary to protect Karen. He faced charges more than once for assaulting her, but he'd never once hurt their kids.

They were his trump card. Every time Karen tried to leave Gary he would withhold them. 'You can go,' he would tell her, 'but the kids stay with me.' It was an impossible position.

Eventually Karen fled, fearing for her life if she stayed. It would be the last time she ever saw her children alive.

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Karen Bell Escaped Her Husband, But She Couldn’t Save Her Children 48:27 Share

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Karen Bell Escaped Her Husband, But She Couldn’t Save Her Children