A Golden Square man, drunk and armed with a kitchen knife, threatened to kill his former partner and her four young daughters during a “frightening” act of family violence in the early hours of yesterday morning.
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The 44-year-old allegedly kicked the oldest girl, 12, in the stomach when she tried to shield her mother from the attack.
He faced the Bendigo Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon charged with aggravated burglary and false imprisonment.
Informant Detective Senior Constable Glen Fisher said further charges would be laid in coming days.
The man, representing himself, made an unsuccessful application for bail. Prosecuting, Leading Senior Constable Dave Somerton said police opposed bail on the grounds the accused posed an unacceptable risk of further offending.
Leading Senior Constable Somerton said police had been called to 28 incidents of family violence between the pair with intervention orders taken out on both sides.
He said police had been called to a violent incident at the man’s Golden Square home on Thursday afternoon where he was arrested and a safety notice was issued protecting his former partner.
But the court heard the accused, armed with a knife, went to the victim’s Long Gully home just three hours after being released.
“When she (the primary victim) saw the knife she ran into the laundry with her eldest daughter and attempted to barricade the door,” Detective Fisher said.
“The accused forced open the door and that’s when the threats to kill started. At one time the 12-year-old daughter tried to shield her mother, the accused kicked her to the stomach and threatened to kill her.”
Detective Fisher said the accused’s former partner received cuts and bruises in the attack.
“He grabbed her by the hair and prevented her from escaping,” he said. “Police arrived to find the accused straddling the victim with a knife to her throat.”
The man said he had a full-time job in Echuca and offered to move there if he was released. But Magistrate Frank Jones said he still considered the man a risk.
“You were out of control,” he said. “You were full of grog. It’s different now, you’re sober, but how do I know you won’t drink again?”
Mr Jones remanded the man to appear in the same court on September 7.