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SIMON MAUDE / Things
A man is on trial in Auckland High Court. He has denied assault, death threat and rape. (File photo)
An ex-roommate of a woman who has described alleged abuse at the hands of her partner heard arguments and shoving and shoving while the three lived together.
A man has denied two counts of rape by forcing the complainant to perform sexual acts with him, three counts of assault, two counts of assault with a knife and one count of death threat.
The man, who has provisional name deletion, faces a trial alone with a judge in Auckland High Court against Judge Timothy Brewer.
David White / Stuff
Judge Timothy Brewer is hearing the case in Auckland High Court.
On Monday, Crown Prosecutor Fiona Culliney said the couple was in a brief but toxic relationship.
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* Woman became ‘desensitized to abuse’ after ex-partner threatened to kill her, court hears
But Belinda Sellars QC said her client “totally rejected” that he was physically or sexually abusive in any way.
The couple met in September 2016 before moving in together, and the relationship ended seven months later.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney said the woman was regularly abused.
On Monday, the court heard from the woman, who said the man slapped her and pushed her to the ground, but that she was too scared to get out of the “volatile” situation.
She said that at one point, the man told her that he was going to die. He then started chasing her around the house with a knife before holding her to the ground, he said.
“I have never been so scared in my life and I managed to slip away. He had something in his system. I didn’t know what he had taken and why he was trying to kill me. “
In April 2017, the woman decided to leave the relationship after finding text messages to another woman on her phone.
‘PUSH AND CLEAN’
On Tuesday, the couple’s former roommate told the court that he heard arguments from time to time while living in their shared home.
“They were just arguing about things and I mostly remember [the defendant’s] the voice is the strongest, ”he said.
“It wasn’t something I wanted to jump into.”
On another occasion, the roommate heard “pushing and shoving noises” coming from the garage, he said.
“Hearing the shoving and shoving, it wouldn’t have been something I would have been involved in.”
Alden Williams / Stuff
Belinda Sellars QC said her client never physically or sexually abused the woman. (File photo)
Earlier Monday, Sellars suggested to the plaintiff that during questioning, there was no physical violence between the couple.
“You didn’t move … you just let it happen,” Sellars told him.
“Anyone who has been in a relationship of domestic violence will know the fear they have been subjected to,” the woman replied.
Sellars suggested to the complainant that she exaggerated her account of the events to the police, remembered things differently, and “made things up.”
“He treated you badly, took money from you and used your savings … the pain was from deceit and lies,” Sellars said.
However, the woman rejected this and maintained that she had been abused by her ex-partner for months.
“After advising things that you pushed so deep inside yourself, they go up,” said the woman.
He said he needed to stay safe from a “very dangerous man”.
On Tuesday afternoon, Sellars said his client had chosen not to testify.
The Crown and the defense will close their cases before Judge Brewer on Wednesday.
