DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ROCKS SMALL TOWN
It’s the classic story of abuse. She was in an extremely controlling relationship and he was an extremely jealous person. When she finally made her courageous attempt to get out things only got worse.
By Kate Neilson
Deceased Nadia Cameron and Elie Issa.
Image: Western advocate
Friends and family of Ms. Cameron say that while some people are choosing to portray Mr. Issa as a generous and caring man, they knew a different side of him and described this situation as a “clear and tragic case of domestic violence.”
The discovery of the bodies of local cafe owner, Elie Issa and his ex-partner, Nadia Cameron, were shocking to those living within the Bathurst area. Mr Issa owned the popular 'Elie's Cafe' on William street and had been there for ten years. Ms. Cameron worked just two stores down from the cafe at the Bathurst real estate agency and the pair had been in a relationship for the last four years.
Claims of a murder suicide case in Bathurst have shaken this small town to its core. Kate Neilson reports.
Elie's Cafe is located on the main street of Bathurst, William Street.
It was reported that Ms. Cameron has ended the relationship three weeks prior to her alleged murder. Friends and family said that Ms. Cameron was unhappy in the relationship, with one friend stating that Nadia would call her on a weekly basis in tears.
Following the death of Nadia's father, Kevin Pleming, who died in a car accident in June of this year, it was reported that a grieving Cameron had decided to make some changes in her own life, which started with ending her relationship with Mr. Issa.
A report from the Sydney Morning Herald stated that Mr. Issa had not been an attentive partner and it wasn't until Ms. Cameron had broken off the relationship that he started paying her special attention with phone calls and flowers.
Image: Youtube.
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Nadia and her teenage son Jordan. Image: Facebook
Elie and his daughter. Image: Sydney Morning Herald
Who is Elie Issa?
Mr. Issa was well known around the Bathurst community, with his cafe cemented into the cafe culutre within the region. On the day that his suicide was revealed, after reports that he had shot his ex-partner Nadia Camerson, local businesses were in deep mourning, with flowers being laid outside both the cafe and Cameron's real estate agency. For weeks the flowes kept coming in and the tragedy was all the town was talking about.
A Charles Sturt University student, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was in another popular town eatery, Piccolos, when the news of the deaths broke. He described the scene as "a buzz of grief" as the news quickly spread through the town.
Mr Issa had a reputation for being a gregarious character around town, a kind character that was always up for a chat, but many people know him to be quite different.
The Inside scoop: What it was really like to work at Elie's Cafe.
We spoke to former Elie's cafe employee, Sarah Smith* who says that working for Mr. Issa wasn't a pleasant experience.
I worked at Eli's cafe towards the end of my first year at University for roughly three months. I had worked in the hospitality industry for six years prior to that position, so it wasn't unfamiliar territory for me.
I knew as soon as I started working for him that he wasn't a happy man. He would come into work everyday with something to complain about and some co-workers told me that during night shifts he would often turn up to work drunk.
He also owned the crepe store upstairs, which is sister managed, so he was often up and down between the two store. It was quite a releif when he would leave to go upstairs because it always felt like there was some kind of cloud looming over us when he was around.
I would describe Elie as an intimidating man, but I wouldn't have expected him to be violent. One day when I was at work, he accidentally stepped on me in the kitchen, being a big man it hurt my foot quite a lot. He pretended as if he didn't notice and then proceeded to act annoyed when I was cautiously walking around him, or letting him know when I was standing behing him.
Towards the end of the day he must have been fed up with me constantly telling him that I was standing behind him because he turned to me in anger and said, "I'm going to start calling you Hitler, because all you do is push infront of people!"
I was quite shocked by this, afterall I was only trying to avoid being stepped on for a second time. It his outbursts and attitude that soon started to turn
the rest of the staff off him. He was constantly going around telling us to smile, which was more reflective of the way we felt around him than our lack of customer service skills.
For me, I always had the vibe that he was a little bit sexist. I heard stories of previous employees that he had asked them to stand outside with a sign to promote the cafe and then be asked to pull their tops down a little to reveal clevage and lure customers in. Whether or not this is true or heresay, I never did feel comfortable around him.
I decided that I wanted to quit my job one day after I had gone in to collect my payment for the week. I was wearing a dress and when I walked in Elie looked me up and down and said, "Look, the floozy is here," while laughing with one of the chefs about how 'short' my dress was. While this isn't a hugely significant moment, I felt that it really outlined the type of person that he was and I decided that I no longer wanted to work for someone like that.
Nadia used to come into the cafe most days. I would often serve her for lunch and Elie always made sure we were very attentive in getting her colf water, putting her order in quickly, stuff like that. He seemed to be looking after her, which is why I was extremely shocked to hear the news of her death.
While I never though favourably of Elie and I always suspected that he was doing something a little dodgy, I never in my wildest dreams would have thought he was capable of something like this.
I really feel for Nadia and her family, she was always really nice and pleasant in the cafe and I just can't believe that this happened to her.
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.
If you’re struggling with domestic violence or you know someone else who is you can:
Contact the free DV hotline on 1800 656 463 (TTY 1800 671 442).
Walk into your local police station.
If you have been assaulted, call 000 immediately.
Post continues after gallery.
 Elie IssaOn the balcony of his second store, Crepes Royale. |
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 Mr. Issa's propertyWhere the two bodies of Issa and Cameron were located. |
 Nadia Cameron |
 The tragedy was covered by all the major news outlets. |
 Nadia Cameron |
 Elie at Elie's Cafe. |
 Bathurst business awards.Former Governor General, Quentin Bryce with Mr. Issa. |
 Elie Issa and Nadia Cameron. |
 Nadia with her son Jordan |
 Nadia in the Blue Mountains. |
Domestic Violence statistics in Australia
Infographic created at Piktochart.com
Related Post: NEWS- “A clear and tragic case of domestic violence” - Bathurst grieves the loss of Nadia Cameron.
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