THE 30 MINUTES HE FEARED WOULD BE HIS LAST — CHIL-LING DETAILS EMERGE FROM THE FRENCH HOTEL AT-TACK
The boyfriend of high-flying Sydney banker David Cao has described the moment he allegedly tried to kill him with a hot saucepan in a luxury French hotel.
Cao, 37, allegedly struck his Australian partner, entrepreneur Callum Forbes, on the head with a kitchen pan and poured boiling water over his body during a late-night incident at the Château de Perreux boutique hotel in central France on July 28.
The couple paid about $500 for a night in the ‘caves room’ and planned to travel to Amsterdam for the World Gay Pride festival the following day.
Guests and hotel staff reportedly heard screams from the room, with staff later finding Mr Forbes alone and critically injured.
Cao allegedly fled the hotel in a rental car and was arrested about 36 hours later in Lille, nearly 500km north of the hotel. He was detained near the Belgian border and charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, theft, torture and acts of barbarity.
Mr Forbes has opened up for the first time about the ‘nightmare’ and how he feared he might die.
‘I remember thinking, is this real, is this some kind of nightmare,’ he told Gay Sydney Daily on Thursday.
‘I remember thinking very clearly that I might die there that night in the château.’
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Sydney banker David Cao (pictured) allegedly struck his Australian partner Callum Forbes on the head with a kitchen pan and poured boiling water over his body during a late-night incident at a French hotel on July 28
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Cao (right) is pictured with Mr Forbes (left)
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Mr Forbes (pictured) said the incident was a ‘nightmare’ and he thought he might die
Mr Forbes said he locked himself in the bathroom during the alleged assault, where hotel staff later found him.
‘I had been bleeding heavily and was too terrified to open the door for what felt like more than 30 minutes while I waited for hotel staff to come in,’ he said.
The entrepreneur is now recovering in hospital with severe head injuries and burns, supported by his mother.
‘I’ll have scarring from the stitches on my face and back, but the burns should recover without surgery and many of the stitches or staples are in my hair so aren’t too visible,’ Mr Forbes added.
‘I know things will feel different for a while, but I’m looking forward to getting back to normal life when I can.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Thursday that it is providing consular assistance to Mr Forbes.
Cao reportedly hopes to return to Australia in the next two weeks and will remain in custody while awaiting trial.
Australia has an extradition treaty with France, which means Cao could be extradited home if he meets certain requirements.
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Mr Forbes and Cao are pictured at Sydney Harbour Bridge
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The couple were staying at the Château de Perreux boutique hotel in central France
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Mr Forbes (pictured with Cao) said he locked himself in the bathroom during the alleged assault and that is where hotel staff found him
Mr Forbes said he locked himself in the bathroom during the alleged assault, where hotel staff later found him.
‘I had been bleeding heavily and was too terrified to open the door for what felt like more than 30 minutes while I waited for hotel staff to come in,’ he said.
The entrepreneur is now recovering in hospital with severe head injuries and burns, supported by his mother.
‘I’ll have scarring from the stitches on my face and back, but the burns should recover without surgery and many of the stitches or staples are in my hair so aren’t too visible,’ Mr Forbes added.
‘I know things will feel different for a while, but I’m looking forward to getting back to normal life when I can.’
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed on Thursday that it is providing consular assistance to Mr Forbes.
Cao reportedly hopes to return to Australia in the next two weeks and will remain in custody while awaiting trial.
Australia has an extradition treaty with France, which means Cao could be extradited home if he meets certain requirements.
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Mr Forbes and Cao are pictured at Sydney Harbour Bridge
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The couple were staying at the Château de Perreux boutique hotel in central France
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Mr Forbes (pictured with Cao) said he locked himself in the bathroom during the alleged assault and that is where hotel staff found him
The alleged crime must be considered an offence in both countries, Australian officials must submit a formal request for extradition, and French courts must approve the request.
The Daily Mail revealed that Cao previously dated high-profile radio personality and producer ‘Intern’ Pete Deppeler in 2020.
The Mail has been told their relationship only lasted a few months and it didn’t end on good terms. Deppeler declined to comment when contacted for comment.
People who knew Cao told the Daily Mail he was described as ‘highly strung’.
A former colleague from the Bank of Queensland said Cao was ‘annoying’ to work with and had ‘an inflated opinion of himself’.
‘He wasn’t an executive, he liked to think he was,’ they said.
Cao often boasted about his professional achievements on LinkedIn, where he shared photographs of himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, Westpac CEO Anthony Miller and chief executive Carolyn McCann.
According to his profile, Cao spent four months as head of retail value creation at ING Australia, until he was dismissed following the alleged attempted murder.
He worked at Westpac between 2016 and 2020, then again from 2024 to 2026, serving as a consultant, business manager, head of strategy, executive manager and head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
Cao also worked as chief business development officer and chief of staff to the CEO at the Bank of Queensland, a strategy manager at the Commonwealth Bank, and an analyst at the prestigious Goldman Sachs.
