Ariel and her mum heard the phone ring, then a panicked voice and two gunshots.

Ariel Bombara knew the only way she and her mother could escape her abusive father, Mark Bombara, was if he couldn't find them.

For eight weeks, she meticulously planned for their safety in "the most terrifying game of cat and mouse." In the end, Ariel's worst fears still came true — just not in the way she expected.

In May 2024, a furious Bombara turned up at the house of Ariel's mum's best friend, Jennifer Petelczyc, demanding to see his ex-wife, but she wasn't there.

Bombara didn't believe Jennifer and forced his way inside her Floreat home, killing her and her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, before taking his own life.

Hundreds listened in Perth's CBD on Monday, as Ariel spoke of how she lives with survivor's guilt. She said she still questions her decision to convince her mother to leave her father.

"What more I could've done to stop him? Knowing two lives were taken instead of my own and my mum's, because I was too good at hiding from him. Hating myself for never considering he would kill other people because he wouldn't find us," she said.

"It's a heavy burden women carry blaming themselves for men's violence."

Ariel has previously said she contacted the police multiple times to warn them of the threat her father posed, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"I fought for eight weeks against every person who tried to convince us we were overreacting," she said.

"The police who dismissed us, the people who said, 'Oh, but he doesn't rape you or hit you, so it can't be that bad'. All I can ask is, 'Do you believe me now?'"

Watch: Ariel Bombara speaks about living under abusive father, Mark Bombara, at a Perth domestic violence rally. Post continues below.

'Violence against women and children is everyone's problem.'

Ariel and her mother were unpacking in their new apartment when Jennifer called. They were hiding from Mark Bombara in a state of "persistent dread."

The mother and daughter had disappeared from the family home for eight weeks, and were finally putting down new roots. They'd spoken to law enforcement about what they'd been through, but Ariel said they received no help.

"During that time, we were gaslit, told we were overreacting, crazy, that my father would never physically hurt us," she said.

It was May 24, and while they were physically far from the scene of the murder, the truth was, they experienced the horror in real time.

"We heard Jenny telling her 18-year-old daughter, Gretl, to go hide," she said. Bombara refused to believe Ariel and her mother weren't hiding in the home.

"He forced his way into her home. We heard Jenny say, 'Mark, put the gun away.'"

Those were the last words Ariel heard Jennifer say.

She frantically called Triple-0 for help as her mum stayed on the line, but it was too late. There was nothing they could do.

"Whilst speaking to the police, I heard mum scream, and then she was wailing. The last thing mum heard were two gunshots before the phone went dead.

"I stood there powerless, watching her in shock as her wails filled our empty apartment, laden with the pain of someone who's just heard their abusive husband murder their best friend."

Jennifer Petelczyc and her daughter Gretl. Image: ABC.

The moment will haunt her forever, but Ariel refuses to let their deaths be in vain.

"Knowing that Jenny and Gretl lost their lives in our place has filled me with both devastation and an overwhelming sense of duty to do everything in my power to prevent this from happening again," she said.

Ariel added that her dad was a "master manipulator", who used coercive control to keep his mother essentially as "a slave to this man for 35 years".

"I think because he didn't hit her she was able to convince herself it wasn't that bad," Ariel said.

But it was. And her family's not alone.

"The true impact of domestic violence homicides isn't just the loss of life. It's the devastation that ripples through the families, the quiet aftermath… we weren't the ones to pick up that gun, yet we must live the rest of our lives paying for his crimes," she said.

She called for action to address a system that she said doesn't protect victims.

"Violence against women and children is everyone's problem."

Ariel delivered this account of her family's trauma at the 34th March Against Domestic and Family Violence held in Perth. She aims to raise awareness for victims of domestic violence and ensure that more women are believed when they reach out to police for support.

Police are conducting an internal investigation into the handling of Ariel and her mother's pleas for help, per ABC.

WA Police Deputy Commissioner Allan Adams also spoke at the rally, acknowledging that police don't always get it right and "on occasions we're involved in incidents that have gone tragically wrong".

He added that there was "system reform" taking place within the police force.

Monday marked the beginning of the 16 Days in WA campaign, which aims to drive change in culture, behaviour and attitudes to stop violence against women and children.

Feature image: AAP.