 Murder trial ... Anthony Sherna has told a court that his wife called him "a weak little bastard" / Joe Benke |
- Wife "verbally abused" murder accused
- "Called me a weak little bastard"
- Pleads not guilty to her murder
A MAN accused of murdering his de facto wife told a court she verbally abused him, controlled their finances and would not let him use their home toilet.
Anthony Sherna told a Supreme Court jury his de facto partnerSusanne Wild cut him off from contact with friends and family, was "unpredictable" and would constantly put him down.
"She just used to call me a weak little bastard," he said.
The jury has heard Mr Sherna strangled Ms Wild with a dressing gown cord in February last year after she woke his dog and then buried her body in their back yard in Melbourne's southwest.
He has pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Mr Sherna, 42, said he was working up to two jobs so the couple had extra money, but Ms Wild, who did not work, controlled how it was spent.
He said she allowed him 12 cigarettes a day, barred him from certain parts of their home at Tarneit, the last place they lived together, and laid out his clothes daily.
Mr Sherna said if people knocked on their front door the couple had to pretend they were not home. His partner, who had a number of aliases, also would not let him give out their address to his family.
"She'd ring them drunk and abusive without my knowledge," he said.
Mr Sherna said Ms Wild, 53, would call him at work several times a day about trivial things and did not let him socialise with his work mates.
She also accused him of having affairs.
"I dreaded going home. I just wanted to stay at work as long as I could," he said.
Mr Sherna said his wife would pick fights with neighbours and abuse them.
At one house where they lived, she would not let him use the toilet, telling him to use the amenities at work or the local shopping centre instead.
They slept in separate rooms, she refused to have photos taken with him and never wanted to go on holidays or out for dinner.
During one of their fights, Mr Sherna said Ms Wild had grabbed a kitchen knife and grazed his chest.
"I wanted to end my life. I had enough," he said.
Mr Sherna said every day was a "pressure cooker", but on the day of her death he said Ms Wild was more hostile than usual.
He said he never told anyone about their problems because loyalty in their relationship was "the most powerful thing".
Mr Sherna said he had feared Ms Wild, because she had told him her brother and ex-husband were policemen and he should watch his step.
"I was afraid of what she might do, not just to myself but my family, especially my mother," he said.
"She rang mum a number of times abusing her at all times of the night.
"I just wanted a normal relationship, just like the guys that I worked with."
Mr Sherna said that after he killed her, he believed that he too would be killed.
The trial continues tomorrow.
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