A Dunedin woman says she was trapped in a car and beaten for hours by an ex-partner, who is on trial this week.
The 41-year-old maintained his innocence when he appeared before Judge Michael Turner and a jury yesterday, facing 11 charges of serious domestic violence.
The defence case is that the allegations are simply false and were "made out of spite".
Yesterday, the jury watched the woman’s police interview, where she described the repetitive and escalating violence she allegedly suffered at the hands of her ex-partner.
The complainant recalled how attempts at simple communication would result in the man flying into fits of rage.
"I was asking questions ... basic questions which were making him all furious," she said.
"He just wanted me to shut up ... He just smacked and smacked and smacked and smacked."
The abuse was allegedly present in the relationship for many years but the charges arose from incidents in 2020 and 2021.
The woman said on New Year’s Day 2021, after watching fireworks in town, the pair pulled over to the side of the road about 12.40am.
She was allegedly trapped in the vehicle and beaten until dawn.
"He ripped my hair out ... When we were in the back seat he was trying to strangle me.
"I would have done anything that night to get out of that car."
The woman said she could not escape but did her best to use the car horn to seek help from passing cars.
The man was charged with two counts of assault in a family relationship, two counts of injuring with intent to injure, two counts of assault with intent to injure and counts of threatening to kill and dangerous driving.
He was also charged with two counts of strangulation and one charge of sexual violation after a "delusional" episode resulted in the woman being accused of infidelity, the court heard.
"He told me I was not going to make it out alive and he wasn’t going to stop until I told him," the woman said.
"There was a lot of violence in that room that night.
"He pinned me down on the bed and pulled my pants down ... He ripped me and cut me with his fingers."
The woman described how the alleged fits of rage plagued their relationship and how it was not possible for him to "snap out of it".
Feeling fatigued and dizzy from her injuries was a repetitive part of her life, the woman said.
"I quite often had bruising marks on my neck ... He ripped all my natural hair out of from the roots. I had bald spots."
The woman described how the alleged violence coupled with verbal abuse made her feel worthless.
But Mrs Stevens said it simply did not happen.
"The complainant was exceedingly controlling and manipulative ... He was acting in self-defence," Anne Stevens KC told the jury.
"He, by law, has the presumption of innocence."
The trial is set to continue to this week with the woman’s friends and neighbour set to testify about the abuse they allegedly witnessed.
erin.cox@odt.co.nz , PIJF court reporter
