AS TARA Proffitt waited in her grandfather’s living room, with her phone switched to record, she knew this was her final chance of justice, for her mother and for herself.
Alison Connolly, was a victim of sexual abuse as a child by her father, Mark. He had also abused her daughter, Tara.
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But it was only after Alison was tragically murdered that Tara set out to get justice for her from beyond the grave, by confronting their abuser and taping his confession.
Mark Connolly was later jailed for 19 years and died in prison.
Mum of two, Tara, 38, says: “The child abuse was the catalyst for everything which went wrong in Mum’s life. She was vulnerable and lacking in confidence.
“She could never stand up to her father, but she did her best for all her children; she loved us all so much and she gave us strength and resilience.
“It was that same strength which helped me confront my grandfather, before Mum’s wake. I took his confession to the police, and he was arrested as a result.
“I feel proud that I got justice for Mum but we miss her so much every day.”
Mum of eight Alison was brutally attacked by two sisters Charice and Amberstasia Gassmann, then 19 and 23, in May 2015.
The pair were slammed for laughing in court before being convicted of murder and manslaughter respectively.
Charice was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 19 years. Amberstasia was sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Alison’s family, including her daughter Tara, say they have never recovered from their mother’s death, and she is speaking out on the 10th anniversary to highlight the devastating impact of violent crime.
Tara says: “It took a few seconds for Mum’s killers to rip our lives apart, but the pain will live with us always.”
Tara, originally from Swindon, was aware her mother had been abused from an early age.
Tara says: “Mum told me her dad sexually abused her throughout her childhood. She couldn’t ever confront him; it was just brushed under the carpet.
“She suffered with mental health issues, low self-esteem and depression, as a result.
“Growing up, I felt like I was the one looking after her. She adored us but she was vulnerable.”
Tragically, Tara was also sexually abused by her grandfather, including him forcing her to watch pornography and sexually assaulting her.
She says: “I didn’t dare report him; I’d been brought up not to confide in people. And I was worried we might be taken away by social services.
“I loved my Mum, and she loved us, despite her problems.
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“She was very protective of us too. She didn’t want me to suffer as she had, and it broke her heart that her own father was a monster.”
Aged 16, Tara left home but remained close to her mother.
Tara says: “My family was targeted by two sisters, Charice and Amberstasia Gassman, who were local bullies.
“They called my younger sister names and spat at her. Mum always stood up for us and she told them to leave her family alone.
“They threatened her with a screwdriver, and Mum told the police. But there had been no physical violence, so there wasn’t much they could do.
“We thought they were a nuisance, nothing more.”
But in May 2015, the Gassmans covered a moped, belonging to Tara’s sister’s boyfriend, in brown sauce and threw it against her door.
Tara says: “My sister was terrified, and Mum confronted one of the sisters in the shop and got into a scuffle.
Mum’s life started to unravel when the abuse began
Tara Profitt
“Mum must have been scared because she wet herself, but she fought back.”
On her way home, in broad daylight and outside a block of flats, both sisters ambushed Alison, and she was stabbed to death by Charice.
Tara says: “We were shell-shocked. We couldn’t believe she was gone, and so brutally and needlessly. It was devastating.”
As the family planned her funeral, Tara decided to confront her grandfather about the abuse.
She says: “Mum’s life started to unravel when the abuse began.
“She would not have been vulnerable, she would not have been murdered, had the abuse not happened. It was a chain reaction from that moment.
“I waited for him in his living room until he came home. I didn’t feel any fear; I just wanted justice.
“I felt like it was the final thing I could do for Mum. I thought he might deny it, but he admitted it all. I got the feeling he was ready to confess, and I had it all on a recording.”
Tara went to the police, and Mark Connolly, known also as Martin, was arrested.
In December 2015, Charise and Amberstasia Gassman appeared before Bristol Crown Court. The court heard the sisters were violent and Charise had previously admitted that she felt she could kill someone.
The pair were slammed after giggling in court and mocking their victim. Charice was jailed for 19 years for Alison’s murder, and Amberstasia was jailed for 12 years for manslaughter.
Tara says: “The sentences brought us no comfort. As a family, we were shattered.”
How to report a sexual assault
In January 2017, Martin Connolly, 77, aka Mark Connolly, appeared before Swindon Crown Court and admitted sexually abusing and raping five children over a forty-year period. He was jailed for 19 years and died in prison in 2022.
Tara says: “I was glad he went to jail because it meant that other children were safe from him. He ruined my mums’ life, and he tried to ruin mine, but I didn’t let him.
The chain of abuse is broken at last, and future generations can live in peace
Tara Profitt
“I felt mum was with me, giving me strength throughout the case. I hope she’d be proud that he faced justice at last.
“The chain of abuse is broken at last, and future generations can live in peace.”
Ten years on, Tara is speaking out about the impact of violent crime.
She says: “We miss her more and more every day.
“We’ve had her ashes for ten years as we haven’t been able to let go, we’ve been holding onto the memories.
“I forgive her killers, because I don’t want to carry that anger with me. But I want them to know that our hearts are broken.”
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