Alleged abuse victim cross-examined

An alleged abuse victim took the stand at Napier District Court today with a harrowing story. PHOTO/FILE

A woman who alleges she suffered two-and-a-half years of almost daily beatings at the hands of her partner, has admitted threatening to skin alive a woman who got too close to him.

Timothy Hebberley is on trial at the High Court in Napier for 29 charges including injuring with intent, sexual violation, kidnap, intimidation, rape and threatening to kill.

The Crown alleges the 20-year-old branded his partner with hot wire, burnt her with lighters, and candle wax, intentionally dislocated her limbs, and locked her in a small room with a dangerous dog for two hours.

Under cross examination by defence lawyer Scott Jefferson, the woman read out a message which she sent to another woman, whom she suspected was having an affair with Timothy Hebberley.

In the message, Hebberley's partner told the other woman to keep her "demonic" hands off him, and if she didn't, she would happily go to jail for tearing off the woman's skin centimetre by centimetre.

The woman admitted to Hebberley's lawyer that the words were severe and unnecessary, but she was fed up with them constantly contacting each other. She told the court she later apologised to the other woman and resolved the situation.

Jefferson also questioned the woman about another incident when she pulled a knife on a person while at high school.

She said she had the knife at school for self-defence, but denied holding the knife to a girl's chest.

Jefferson told the court the incidents showed she was willing to stand up for herself, and fight from her corner. He said that being over six feet tall, she was able to intimate others using her size.

He asked why she wasn't willing to leave a relationship that had become so abusive that, according to her evidence, she was being hit almost three times a day.

The woman told the jury she thought she loved him at the time, and believed his promises that he would change.

She said Hebberley would always tell her no one else would want her, and he was the only person who could love her back.

The alleged victim later admitted to the court, she never once sought medical attention, despite giving evidence that she had been burnt with various instruments more than 50 times, had a knife wound to her thigh and had "chunks torn out of her" by Hebberley's teeth.

Earlier today, the jury heard how Hebberley had a fetish to drip or put hot things on her body during sex, and she was burnt with hot candle wax and a cigarette lighter. Afterwards, he branded her with a hot wire.

The jury also heard he enjoyed dislocating her hip and shoulder joints while having sex.
She said she tried to push him away and asked him to stop, but he just laughed and carried on.

Crown prosecutor Jo Rielly questioned the complainant about a time when she was locked in a wash-house with a dog, which belonged to the defendant's brother, for two hours.

She told the court that she had to run and jump onto a washing machine, while the dangerous dog was trying to bite her.

A category of her injuries from the alleged abused was also described to the jury.

The complainant has told the court she was left with permanent scars from the burns, and bite marks on her skin from his teeth.

Concealer and foundation was used to try cover up bruises on her face, she said.

She said she never showed or told anyone about her injuries because it was "quite embarrassing" to be in a relationship where someone treated her like that, and she was ashamed.

In his opening statement yesterday, Jefferson told Justice Helen Cull and a jury of seven women and five men, it was she who intimidated the accused.

Ten witnesses will be called during the trial, including the accused's brother, two former flatmates of the accused and the complainant, and the woman's parents.