A Florey man has been refused bail after he allegedly sharpened an axe in front of his girlfriend and put screws in the doors of their home so she couldn't leave during a five-day ordeal prosecutors likened to a "horror movie".
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The man, 26, is also accused of threatening to kill the woman and choking her as she lay in bed and over the course of their 11-month relationship, which she alleged was marred by escalating domestic violence.
He was charged with unlawful confinement, choking and making a reckless threat to kill after the alleged victim sent a text message to a friend on Tuesday night, asking her to call police.
The man's lawyer told the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday he denied committing the offences. He has not yet entered pleas.
Court documents said the woman answered the door to the house and whispered to officers to tell them the accused was inside but had told her to lie to police.
In a recorded family violence evidence-in-chief interview, she told police the man's behaviour was increasingly controlling and aggressive towards her and she was frightened for her safety.
He allegedly hadn't let her leave the house for five days from Thursday, April 20. She said he put the screws in the doors, changed the locks, and took away sets of keys.
The man allegedly sharpened a small axe in front of her, which she said made her feel she couldn't leave the house without him hurting her.
She had tried to make a doctor's appointment to talk about support options but he wouldn't let her go on her own and insisted he sit in with her.
On Tuesday night, the pair had driven into the driveway and the woman stayed in the car while the man went inside.
She told police he walked outside a few times, sometimes speaking "in a voice that resembled the devil" and other times he was "coherent and calm".
He's then alleged to have told her to go into the house to eat her dinner, saying: "I'm going to f---ing kill you if you don't come inside."
The woman went inside and contacted her friend for help.
She also told police the man had come to her house and knelt beside her bed before he wrapped his hands around her neck earlier in April.
Police went back to the house after they spoke with the woman. Court documents said officers seized an axe and saw screw holes in the doors.
The accused refused to be interviewed by police, but admitted he'd been drinking alcohol before officers arrived at the house.
Prosecutor Chamil Wanigaratne opposed the man's bail application in court on grounds he could reoffend, intimidate the woman or endanger her safety, saying the allegations were "horrific".
"It almost reads like a horror movie," he said. "She's clearly terrified of the defendant."
He said the man was already serving a good behaviour order after he smashed a television and damaged walls in a series of events linked to the same woman.
The man's defence lawyer said the woman's evidence was already on the record and the accused would be willing to abide by strict conditions if released.
Special Magistrate Margaret Hunter said the allegations were "very serious" and she was concerned the violence towards the woman appeared to be escalating.
She said the significant risk the man would try to interfere with the woman could not be contained by bail conditions.
He was refused bail.
The case returns to the court's family violence list in May.
