Warning: distressing content
An Illawarra man who allegedly choked and beat his pregnant partner so violently that she lost their unborn child has faced a jury for the first time.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial in Wollongong District Court facing 10 charges of horrific domestic violence including pressuring his partner to retract her 35-page statement to police.
On the first day of the trial before Judge Andrew Haesler, Crown Prosecutor Nerissa Keay laid out the prosecution case.
The Crown alleges that the man and his former partner began a relationship in 2017 and by the end of 2019 had a son together.
In October 2020 the woman fell pregnant again and during this pregnancy the relationship became increasingly unstable as the man's alleged violence escalated.
Just before Christmas 2020, during an argument the man allegedly assaulted the woman, pushing her out of the bed they were both in, and kicking her in the back.
While holding her son, the man allegedly continued to beat the woman, including throwing a hard plastic supermarket shopping basket into her legs, causing it to shatter.
Soon afterwards the woman fled to her parents' house in Queensland, however the man followed her and the couple then returned to the Illawarra.
Over the months that followed, the man allegedly displayed increasingly volatile and paranoid behaviour, with a fixation that the woman was cheating on him. The man's behaviour included scouring her phone and claiming it was hampered with "alien" software and contained "illegal vaults" of material. In one incident, while the woman was sleeping with her son, the man allegedly poured soft drink over the woman and repeated the claims of infidelity and secret evidence on her phone.
The conflict allegedly escalated in June 2021, when the man allegedly hit and attempted to choke the woman while she was 38 weeks pregnant. The assault allegedly began in the shed on the Shellharbour property they lived at, before continuing as the woman attempted to avoid the man inside the house. The man allegedly grabbed the woman by her hair and leant on her stomach, before she told him to "get off, you're on my belly".
Afterwards, the man left, before returning in the early hours of the next morning. Again accusing her of cheating, the man woke the woman before allegedly putting her in a headlock, placing his forearm across her throat and bent her backwards with her torso off the bed. The woman then felt pain in her lower back and a pop in her abdomen before the assault stopped.
Later that morning, with the assistance of a family member the woman was able to leave and drove to Queensland with her son while reporting what had occurred to police.
The following week, the woman returned to NSW and began to feel labour pains. An ambulance was called which took her to Wollongong where the baby was stillborn that morning at 3.1 kilograms.
At the time, the woman reported what had been happening to friends and social services, including police, and it was arranged for her to stay in serviced apartments after she left hospital.
In July, a court order was made that prevented the woman and the man from contacting each other, however the man and woman allegedly continued to live together at their Shellharbour address.
The relationship continued to be volatile during this time with the man allegedly increasing his level of control, including requiring the woman to video call him every time she left the house. He allegedly sexually assaulted the woman three times and violently hit her and accused her of murdering their unborn baby.
The man was later arrested and refused bail. While in custody, he was able to make contact with the woman through his brother and began to re-ingratiate himself. Using a phone in another person's name, the man called the woman 900 times while in jail and made promises to change his behaviour and to marry her.
The prosecution allege that during these calls the man pressured the woman to go back on her initial statement to police, and tell police instead the visible bruises were the result of "rough sex".
"I need to know you are on my side," the man is alleged to have said while behind bars.
The woman went through with the plan, writing two letters to police which allegedly explained away the worst parts of the man's conduct, however authorities later realised that the man had been contacting the woman in breach of the conditions of a court order. Subsequently the woman returned to her original statement.
The trial, which is set down for two weeks, will hear evidence from the woman, her family members and friends, workers at the funeral home where the man accused the woman of killing their baby as well as expert medical witnesses, police and child protection authorities.
Defence barrister Scott Fraser said it was not in dispute that the relationship was marked by horrible accusations, but that his client, who has pleaded not guilty to each of the charges, disputes whether any physical violence took place and claims any sexual interactions were consensual.
Mr Fraser said that the woman's complaint to police occurred at a time when their son was being taken into care, and an issue is "whether in that process, whether the complainant was pressured by [Department of Communities and Justice], police or others, and whether the statement she made may be coloured by such pressure".
"Whether it was an attempt to provide a reliable and accurate account of what happened or whether it was an attempt to say what the authorities wanted her to say."
The trial continues in front of Judge Haesler.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or family violence contact the national sexual assault, domestic violence counselling service 24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Men's Referral Service 1300 776 491; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
Our news app has had a makeover, making it faster and giving you access to even more great content. Download The Illawarra Mercury news app in the Apple Store and Google Play.
