A former Brisbane rugby league player and kickboxer will stand trial for the assault and attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend.
Brisbane Magistrates Court heard from the alleged victim that during her then partner Auzzie Tuwhangai grabbed her by the throat twice and appeared to be choking her with all his might.
She also told the court that during the alleged assault she cried out to God to save her.
The woman, under cross-examination, admitted she had slapped Mr Tuwhangai the day before on the legs and the face.
She also said that ‘there was a lot that was said’ though she could not recall the exact words exchanged between them.
She said that during the fight on June 28, 2024, that Mr Tuwhangai grabbed her by the jaw and the face and then the throat as he dragged her to a bathroom.
Auzzie Tuwhangai has been committed to stand trial for attempted murder of his ex-partner
She then told the court that she attempted to hold on to the walls before kicking him in the genitals and trying to slam the bathroom door closed, but he pushed his way in.
‘I was begging him to stop. I was holding the (bathroom) door but he broke in again,’ she said.
‘I held both his arms, I tried to wriggle out of it and tried to get to the bathroom vanity.
‘He choked me by both his hands with what seemed like his full strength.
‘I remember I called out to God to save me because I thought I was going to die.’
However, during the cross examination by Mr Tuwhangai’s barrister David Funch, she conceded the fight was ‘quick.’
Adding that the fight could have been under 10 minutes or even less than five minutes in total.
The defendant is facing two counts of attempted murder, two counts of common assault and one count of assault occasioning bodily harm – all domestic violence offences.
Separately, the former North Devils player pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching his bail on July 13.
He has previously spent eight months in custody before being released on strict bail conditions in February.
This included wearing an ankle monitor, but in April he failed in a bid to remove that requirement, claiming the monitor interfered with his kickboxing.
His lawyer in the bail matters, Zane Chapman, said two of the breaches were just an oversight with Mr Tuwhangai admitting, ‘the day had gotten away.’
On one of the occasions he failed to report to police because he claimed he ‘was making music’ with a friend.
After realising the time, he arrived at a police station only to find it had closed for the day.
‘He made stupid decisions in not being responsible for his obligations,’ Mr Chapman said.
Magistrate Ross Mack fined Mr Tuwhangai a total of $2250 for bail breaches and convicted him, but only recorded two.
Mr Mack committed him on the domestic violence matters separately, with a date yet to be fixed.
Mr Tuwhngai is yet to enter a plea.
