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Chilling CCTV shows wife-beating husband lurking outside home after she fled in fear

A man who was jailed for punching his wife so hard in the eye that she was knocked unconscious, has been captured on CCTV returning to the family home with a bag of presents before he was due to face court.

Isabella Cullen was last hit by her husband Ben, as he held their toddler in his arms.

Isabella Cullen. Photo: Supplied
Isabella Cullen. Photo: Supplied

It resulted in blood streaming down her face and her struggling to open her eyes.

Ben hit her so hard during the late-night argument at their Lake Macquarie home, that she was ‘seeing white’ and believes she was knocked unconscious.

Isabella left the house to stay with her mother as they waited for Ben to face court, she feared he would come knocking.

Not long after, security cameras captured Ben visiting the empty house ahead of the trial.

He was monitored peering into the empty home, before leaving a bag of toys for his son.
He was later found guilty and sentenced to three years jail.

Isabella shared the chilling story with Sarah Ferguson on ABC’s Hitting Home, which looked into domestic violence in Australia.

Isabella told of the last time her husband had hit her in front of their son, a moment which followed years of violence and abuse.

Photo: ABC
Photo: ABC

That night before the argument Isabella had returned home from a night out with her friends.

She said her son was left in tears, so shocked by the incident.

“I guess I can put up with it myself, but that's why I've taken the action, because he's here now and I've got to protect him”.

The first time Isabella was hit by her husband was after they had only been dating for two months.

Her partner was incredibly jealous and kicked her when she mentioned an ex-boyfriend.
“Some people, they ran over and they said: "Get out because he's not gonna change,” she said.

Isabella told of her experience with a violent partner. Photo: ABC
Isabella told of her experience with a violent partner. Photo: ABC

“But then the apologies come, the flowers come, the cards come. "I'm gonna change. I'm gonna be a better person”.

She explained the reason she stayed was because she felt she had failed and was embarrassed.

She also thought their relationship could be fixed and was 'addicted to the hope it's going to get better’.

“You hold onto the good times and you don't want to be lonely. The loneliness is hard sometimes, especially when you have a child together”.

Despite denying he had hit his wife during the final late-night altercation, Ben was found guilty.

He also denied telling Isabella he could ‘finish her off in the pool’ after he had punched her in the face.

“I find that the prosecution has proven beyond reasonable doubt that he has occasioned an assault to Ms Cullen and that occasioned actual bodily harm. In my view it is completely inconceivable, his version of events,” the judge told the court.

Ben was found guilty of assault and sentenced to just over three years behind bars.