A court heard allegations that on one occasion the accused grabbed the woman by the throat and lifted her off the floor, choking her until she lost consciousness
A Co Down man allegedly subjected his heavily-pregnant former partner to months of assaults and coercive control, a court has heard.
Newtownards Magistrates Court also heard a claim that in one attack, Frazer Pike grabbed the woman by the throat and lifted her off the floor, choking her until she lost consciousness.
“The injured party was six months pregnant when she was strangled,” a detective constable told the court.
Standing handcuffed in the dock on Friday, Pike, with an address at a caravan in Kilmore Village, Crossgar, confirmed his identity and that he understood the 11 charges against him, all alleged to be aggravated by reason of domestic abuse.
On a charge sheet covering the period from December 5 last year to 2 May this year, the 31-year-old faces charges of domestic abuse, non-fatal strangulation, making threats to kill, making threats to damage property, false imprisonment, possessing a weapon, namely a golf club and causing actual bodily harm.
Giving evidence during a contested application for bail, the detective told the court she believed she could connect Pike to each of the offences.
Adding that police were objecting to Pike being released due to concerns about further offending and witness interference, the officer outlined how the complainant reported to police on June 3 that she had allegedly been subjected to domestic abuse by her ex-partner.
The detective said that according to the complainant, the alleged abuse began late last year after she told Pike she was pregnant and he threatened to spray-paint her name around her home town.
The court heard allegations that in January, Pike damaged her window when he punched it and that he “tripped her up, causing an injury to her ankle.”
In February following a hospital visit, Pike is alleged to have spat in her car but later that month, he is alleged to have assaulted her in his caravan.
During that alleged incident, the detective told the court Pike “trailed her about the caravan by the hair” and when she tried to leave, he is alleged to have blocked the door and “pinned her to the bathroom door and bit her hand… shouting that ‘I’m going to kill you’.”
The court heard that in an incident in March, Pike allegedly “threatened to slice her throat and bite the face off her.”
It was during that assault, the officer claimed, that Pike is alleged to have “grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the floor, causing her to lose consciousness and faint.”
“It was witnessed by a neighbour,” the court heard, and further that at the time, “the injured party was six months pregnant when she was strangled.”
Turning to her objections to bail, the officer told the court that Pike has “a domestic violence history, albeit with a different person,” adding that the latest complainant has been deemed as “high risk.”
The detective told District Judge Amanda Brady although it is not a recent complaint, the woman had not alerted police sooner because Pike allegedly “threatened to kill himself or report her to Social Services” if she did.
Defence counsel Conan Rea emphasised that “these are not contemporaneous complaints” and that when Pike was interviewed by police, he denied the allegations.
“He strenuously denies these incidents and there is no domestic violence between them,” the barrister contended.
Mr Rea argued that as Pike’s address is a 45-minute drive away from the complainant’s address, with additional strict conditions, bail could be granted.
Judge Brady said however, despite the barrister “making all of the points that he possibly could,” she was concerned about further offending and Pike not adhering to bail conditions.
She revealed that the 31-year-old has five previous convictions for breaching bail, “so in all the circumstance, I cannot have any confidence that he would not reoffend or breach the conditions.”
Pike was remanded in custody and will appear again on July 1.
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