A man accused of serious domestic violence offences has been denied bail after the Bendigo Magistrates' Court heard allegations he strangled his estranged former partner to the point she lost consciousness.
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The 44-year old man from a small regional central Victorian town denies the charges which includes two counts of threat to kill, aggravated burglary, strangulation leading to a lack of consciousness and breaking an intervention order.
Appearing on August 8, he had spent 76 days in custody.
The court heard the man's former partner was extremely fearful of the man and was having nightmares that he might stab her.
Magistrate Trieu Huynh said the man was alleged to have committed some of the offences while on bail for the other charges in what was "clearly serious" offending.
Informant Detective Sally Graham said the man began a 14-year-old relationship with the woman when she was 18 and they have four young children together.
The man has children from a previous relationship with another woman who the court heard has also alleged his behaviour was abusive.
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He then allegedly entered the complainant's room where she was asleep with her young baby, when he grabbed her hair, pulled her off the bed and put his hands around her throat until she lost consciousness.
The baby allegedly fell onto the floor during this attack.
The court heard allegations the man told the woman he would shoot her and that she was a "bad mother".
The court heard the man told the woman during the incident that he "had not done anything wrong".
The mother then went to a child's bedroom with both a four-year-old and the baby.
The man is alleged to have kicked and punched the door of the room with the children and mother sheltering inside.
The woman proceeded to take her four children to safety at a neighbour's house.
The court heard the neighbour let them in around 2.15am while the man was later arrested and denied having been present.
The man had been on bail for previous offending during this May attack, having previously attacked the woman.
In November 2022, the man is alleged to have been at home with his children and the complainant when he entered the woman's bedroom and accused her of cheating.
The man then allegedly told her he would "string her up to a tree and kill her" before slapping her face near her eye.
For this matter, the man faces charges of making a threat to kill and an unlawful assault which he also denies.
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The court also heard DFFH had submitted a letter opposing the man's bail application.
The court also heard that an 11-year-old child had provided a statement backing up her mother's account, including that she had heard the threat to shoot, saw the man pull her hair, saw damage to the door and that it made all four children cry.
Detective Sally Graham said the neighbour who assisted the family has allegedly seen the man behaving violently before.
He said he had assisted the complainant four years earlier when the man had grabbed her by the neck.
On another occasion he said he'd seen the man go "off his head" after assaulting another male and he had been told to watch the man's behaviour by others in the community.
The court heard Detective Graham had spoken with a raft of others who made allegations of violence against the man, including the complainant's brother who once needed six stitches after being attacked by him; the complainant's parents, including the man's father-in-law who he had punched; the accused's father who he had assaulted; and his previous partner who said the man had once held a gun to her head.
The court also heard the accused's brother was supportive of him getting bail but he had acknowledged he did not believe his brother would adhere to bail conditions.
The court heard the man suffers from PTSD after witnessing a fatal workplace accident.
Magistrate Trieu Huynh denied the man bail and the matter is set to progress through the court later this year.
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Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
