The mother of British influencer Brooke George, 23, has told how her daughter ‘did not seem like herself’ hours before allegedly stabbing her 26-year-old boyfriend Bill Treeby, 26
The mum of a British influencer accused of killing her boyfriend in Dubai has said her daughter was ‘crying uncontrollably’ in a phone call hours before the stabbing.
TikToker Brooke George, 23, from Gravesend, Kent, has been told she could face death by firing squad after she was charged with the murder of her 26-year-old British lover Bill Treeby, 26. She claims she acted in self-defence after suffering abuse at his hands during visits to the UAE – and had reached for a kitchen knife during the final attack by her boyfriend.
Now, her mother Thereza George has said that her daughter “did not seem like herself” in a phone conversation the day before the incident – and said there were clear signs that something was wrong in her relationship.
She said: “After Brooke returned to Dubai for the second time, the dynamic between them had clearly changed. The day before the incident, she did not seem like herself. She was quieter and not her usual happy, cheerful self, but she did not tell me why.
“That evening they went to a bar in Dubai. When I spoke to Brooke right after the incident, she was absolutely terrified. I have never seen my daughter so frightened in my life. She was crying uncontrollably. I could see that one of her eyes was badly swollen and was beginning to close.
“As Brooke’s mother, I am deeply concerned for her welfare. The daughter I spoke to that night was utterly terrified. I firmly believe she was desperately trying to get home and away from whatever had happened to her.”
It comes after the Mirror revealed that Treeby was convicted of unlawful wounding and common assault at Maidstone Crown Court in December 2023, in relation to an attack on a woman and a man. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for two years.
Radha Stirling, CEO of London-based legal advocacy group Detained in Dubai, said close friends and family had become “increasingly concerned” that Brooke “may have been lured to Dubai under false pretences for the purpose of exploitation” in the weeks leading up to the stabbing. The man’s alleged “unexplained change in behaviour” and an incident in which he reportedly withheld her passport were also mentioned.
Brooke is also said to have friends that “things weren’t right”, and that she had a feeling she “needed to escape” following multiple violent episodes. Calling for authorities in the UAE to investigate the claims of domestic abuse, Ms Stirling said: “Given these allegations, we urge the UAE authorities to preserve and forensically examine all electronic devices, computers, mobile phones, online accounts and digital communications connected with the deceased and any associates, to determine whether Brooke was targeted for exploitation and whether others may also have been victims.”
A Foreign Office spokesperson told the Mirror: “We are in touch with a British woman detained in the UAE, we are supporting her family, and we are in contact with the local authorities.”