Sydney banker charged with attempted murder of partner in French hotel
Consensus Summary
A Sydney banker, David Cao, 37, was charged with the attempted murder of his partner, entrepreneur Callum Forbes, after allegedly assaulting him with a saucepan and boiling water on July 28 at a luxury French hotel in Nazelles-Négron. Forbes was found critically injured in a cave room, and Cao fled the scene, traveling through Rouen and Paris before being arrested near the Belgian border 36 hours later. Both sources confirm the couple had been together for 2½ years and were on a European holiday that was to end with World Pride Amsterdam. Forbes, co-founder of the collapsed 2019 company And Chill, which owed 3.6 million, is recovering in hospital and expects to return to Sydney with his mother within a week or next week. Cao, who worked at ING since May and previously at Westpac for almost 18 months, was also on the board of Rainbow Giving Australia Foundation since January and graduated from Sydney Boys High with a 99.8 UAI. Additional charges of kidnapping, theft, torture, and acts of barbarity were reported by French media, while Cao admitted to the attack but denied intending to kill Forbes.
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Key details reported by multiple sources:
- David Cao, 37, allegedly attacked Callum Forbes with a saucepan and boiling water on July 28 at Château de Perreux in Nazelles-Négron, France
- Forbes was found critically injured and alone by hotel staff after screams were heard from the cave room
- Cao fled the hotel in a rental car on July 28, traveling to Rouen, then Paris, and was arrested in Lille near the Belgian border 36 hours later
- Cao was charged with attempted murder and held in custody while awaiting trial
- Forbes and Cao had been in a relationship for 2½ years
- Forbes was the co-founder of Airbnb property management company And Chill, which collapsed in 2019 owing 3.6 million in payments to clients
- Cao worked as head of retail value creation at ING in Sydney since May, after serving as Westpac’s head of diversity, equity and inclusion for almost 18 months
- Cao graduated from Sydney Boys High School with a 99.8 UAI and served as president of the University of Sydney’s Business School Society
- Cao was on the board of LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Giving Australia Foundation since January
- Forbes was accused of forging receipts in 2013 as a University of Sydney student for a law society election campaign
- Forbes hopes to return to Sydney with his mother within a week
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Forbes was found in one of the ‘cave rooms’ carved into the cliff adjacent to the hotel
- Cao admitted to the attack but not intending to kill his partner, according to a source close to the investigation
- ING chief executive Melanie Evans referred to Cao as a ‘former employee’ in an email to staff
- Forbes suffered burns across his body and needed dozens of stitches on his head, according to a friend who spoke to him from his hospital bed
- Cao was on leave from work for several weeks at the time of the incident
- Forbes said he ‘thought I was going to die’ and ‘can’t believe it happened’
- Forbes described the attack as ‘horrific’ and feared permanent disfigurement from burns and hits
- Cao’s profile on Rainbow Giving’s website was deleted after the story broke
- Rainbow Giving declined to comment on the charges or confirm whether Cao had been officially removed from the organization
- The article includes contact numbers for Lifeline (13 11 14), beyondblue (1300 22 4636), and 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
- ING confirmed to SMH on Thursday that Cao no longer worked for the bank
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- TheAge says Forbes hopes to return to Sydney ‘within a week,’ while SMH says he expects to return ‘next week’
- TheAge states Cao was arrested ‘almost 500 kilometres north of the hotel,’ but SMH does not specify the distance
Source Articles
Banker charged with attempted murder of Sydney entrepreneur in luxury French hotel
David Cao is accused of hitting his partner Callum Forbes with a saucepan and burning him with boiling water in the late-night attack while on a European holiday.
‘I thought I was going to die’: Sydney entrepreneur describes ‘horrific’ attack in luxury French hotel
Callum Forbes was allegedly beaten and burnt by partner David Cao, who was arrested on the Belgian border as he attempted to flee French authorities.
Banker charged with attempted murder of Sydney entrepreneur in luxury French hotel
David Cao is accused of hitting his partner Callum Forbes with a saucepan and burning him with boiling water in the late-night attack while on a European holiday.