A Dunlop man has admitted to assaulting and choking his former partner on multiple occasions over their three-year relationship.
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Jamie Damien Millard, 41, appeared before the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday for the third day of his hearing and changed his pleas to guilty in the afternoon.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of choking and assault occasioning actually bodily harm on his former partner on three separate occasions in February and April 2018, and March 2019.
Earlier in the day, a friend of the woman's gave evidence in court that she saw the impact of Millard's "verbal and financial abuse" on his then-partner and was "jealous of her", often accusing her of cheating while she was at the gym.
"She was petrified, she was scared he was going to kill her. I was scared he was going to kill her," the friend said.
Throughout the relationship, which lasted from June 2016 until May 2019, Millard installed multiple security cameras in the house to keep track of his then-partner and would not let her use her phone or leave the house.
During the first incident, Millard grabbed his former partner forcefully by the neck, pulling her upwards with force until she was standing on her tip toes and then punched her in the face repeatedly.
His ex-partner later told police she "felt a significant amount of pain and was unable to breathe" and blacked out.
Millard took his former partner to Calvary Hospital, however made her tell staff she had dropped a 5kg weight onto her neck and made her leave before being assessed by a doctor.
On the second occasion, Millard followed his former partner home from the gym and, when they got there, grabbed her with one hand by the neck, choking her as he pushed her against a pillar on the front patio.
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Later in the evening, Millard slammed a door on the woman's finger, causing one of her fingernails to rip off and start bleeding.
Once Millard had left the home, the woman called a friend to ask her to call the police. An ambulance was later called too.
On the last reported occasion, Millard pushed his former partner against a pantry door with both hands, causing the woman to cut her lip open on the night of their child's second birthday.
During all three incidents, the woman reported Millard was under the influence of illicit drugs and that she was holding the baby they had together on her hip.
On one occasion, another child, then aged six, was present and began crying.
Millard will be sentenced on September 13. He will remain behind bars until then.
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