A Perth man has been identified as the perpetrator behind a violent rampage that left one woman dead and another fighting to recover, after he stabbed his partner and then drove head-on into nurse and mother Elaine Gee on a Tasmanian highway. Keith Mitton, a welder from the Perth suburb of Landsdale, killed both himself and the 39-year-old Gee in the collision on Friday afternoon.

What Happened: Stabbing, Flight and a Fatal Crash

The sequence of events began at a residential property in Exeter, a small town roughly 20 minutes from Launceston, where Mitton stabbed his partner of approximately six months. He then fled the scene in a Skoda, driving erratically along the West Tamar Highway before slamming head-on into Gee's Nissan Navara at Legana.

Gee, who was just days away from her 40th birthday, had been driving home from work at the time of the crash. Both Mitton and Gee died as a result of the collision.

Tasmania Police Detective Inspector Stuart Greenwood described the scene as deeply distressing for all who witnessed it.

"It was confronting, it was traumatic and it was chaotic," Detective Inspector Greenwood said. "It was a very distressing scene for all emergency services and members of the public who happened to witness it."

Warning Signs That Went Unheeded

Friends of Mitton say there were clear signs in the lead-up to Friday's events that he was in crisis — and that attempts to get him professional help repeatedly hit dead ends.

Woody Churchill, a friend of Mitton's, described him as a "ticking time bomb" and said the people around him had been desperately trying to find him mental health support for months without success.

"We had been trying to get him help for months and months and months," Churchill said. "All we kept getting told was 'we don't have room or there's no vacancies, or you've got to go on a waiting list'. There was just no help. No one wanted to help him."

Churchill said he was devastated by the lives torn apart in the rampage, particularly that of the innocent bystander who lost her life.

"The innocent nurse ... it strengthens my point. It's just a waste. This should never have happened," he said.

Elaine Gee: A Life Cut Short Before Her 40th Birthday

Elaine Gee, 39, was a nurse and mother whose death has left her family and wider community in profound grief. Those close to her have established an online fundraiser to help her family manage the financial and emotional aftermath of her loss.

"What was supposed to be Elaine's 40th birthday will now be her funeral," a loved one wrote in the fundraising appeal. "To say Elaine's family and friends are devastated beyond words is an understatement."

The crash has shaken the local Tasmanian community, with an outpouring of public support for Gee's family.

Mitton's Partner Faces Long Road to Recovery

The woman stabbed by Mitton at the Exeter property survived the attack, and her family has expressed profound relief — while acknowledging the difficult journey ahead. A separate fundraiser has been established to support her and her children.

"The road ahead will be long," her loved ones said in a statement accompanying the appeal. "Any assistance will help ease the financial pressure on the family and allow them to focus on healing, safety and giving the girls the care they need."

The community has rallied around the survivor as she begins what is expected to be an extended physical and emotional recovery.

For anyone experiencing or at risk of domestic or family violence, support is available through the National Domestic Family Violence and Sexual Assault Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732), or through Lifeline on 13 11 14.