Woman hid in paddock after brutal farm DV attack
A woman hid in a paddock to call police after her boyfriend pushed her through a glass window, dragged her by the hair and jumped on her, all the while telling her: "I love you, everything will be alright".
The man, a 32-year-old farm manager, on Monday pleaded guilty to two counts of domestic violence assault over the prolonged attack, which occurred on an isolated property in central west NSW on Sunday.
Magistrate David Day said the assault was "very serious and very violent", noting rates of domestic violence in country areas were much higher than in most city suburbs.
"These (court documents) contain so many red flags as to domestic homicide ... he's bail refused," Mr Day told Orange Local Court on Monday morning.
The man, who cannot be identified in order to protect the victim, appeared in court wearing prison greens and will be held on remand while he awaits a likely jail sentence.
When the couple began arguing in the early hours of Sunday, the woman got in a car to escape, according to a set of police facts tendered in court.
The man grabbed the woman, dragged her on the ground and pushed her through a window in the garage, causing the glass to shatter.
As she lay on the ground crying, he told her he loved her.
The man then dragged her through the house, before kicking her while she was on the floor.
When the woman escaped to a spare bedroom, she tried to fend him off.
"The accused said 'well, if you want to fight, I can fight harder than you'," the court document said.
Over the next 15 minutes, the man dragged the woman by the hair, repeatedly smashed her face into the bathroom tiles and continually jumped on her.
The woman tried to call triple zero during the attack, but the man took her phone and ran away.
She was able to take the man's phone and hide in a paddock to call police, who found her suffering cuts, bruises and a swelling the size of a tennis ball.
During the man's bail application, the court was told he is responsible for several employees and $3.3 million worth of livestock in his job and has no prior history of violence.
But police prosecutor Chris Brien opposed bail, saying the assault was vicious and prolonged.
"Your Honour would have grave concerns for the safety of the victim," Sergeant Brien said.
Mr Day refused bail, saying domestic violence was prevalent across the region compared to rates of assault in the city.
He said police districts in Quakers Hill, western Sydney, and Wyong, on the Central Coast, were urban suburbs with similar domestic violence spikes.
"In my view, a custodial sentence is absolutely on the cards and it will be full time," Mr Day said.
The case was adjourned to August 7.
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