A Trevallyn woman has told a jury of the “petrifying” moment she heard a woman screaming for help as she allegedly tried to escape her armed boyfriend.
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Brendan Craig Green has been accused of threatening his then-girlfriend Melissa Hill with a shotgun after she spent the night at another man’s house in June 2016.
The Norwood man has pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault and is on trial before Justice Robert Pearce in the Launceston Supreme Court.
Ms Hill took the stand on Thursday, but claimed her boyfriend did not have a gun and did not threaten to kill her. On Monday her previous statement to police was read out and a video interview played to the jury.
Crown Prosecutor Luke Brett told the jury Mr Green called the alleged victim more than 60 times and sent a torrent of aggressive text messages to her throughout the night in June 16, 2016.
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The next morning Ms Hill was in a taxi in the car park of Invermay McDonald’s when her then boyfriend pulled up in a Holden Barina, blocking the cab in, the jury was told.
The accused allegedly reached into the back seat, grabbed a shotgun and told Ms Hill to “get in the car you s---”.
Pulling out from McDonald’s, the jury was told Mr Green drove erratically and at high speeds towards Trevallyn while the shotgun was on his lap and pointed towards Ms Hill.
Fearing for her life, the alleged victim jumped from the moving car, falling onto the road and grazing her right arm and leg, the court heard.
Ms Hill then ran towards a nearby house.
Taking the stand, witness Karen Jenson described how she was lying awake in her bedroom that morning when she heard the alleged victim “scream and call for help” outside her home.
Concerned for Ms Hill’s welfare, Ms Jenson said she went to her balcony to investigate and saw the woman attempting to open a neighbour’s gate.
“She was calling for help and she was really distressed,” Ms Jenson said.
“She said ‘call the police, he’s got a gun’.”
The alleged victim asked Ms Jenson to call the police, and once she was inside the home, the residents turned off all the lights and locked the doors.
“She was really frightened, we were all frightened,” the witness said.
The trial will continue on Tuesday, with the prosecution and defence to make closing statements.