Before crashing his car into a tree, former Melbourne Storm player Curtis Scott threatened to kill his girlfriend, verbally abused her and claimed he’d take his own life if she didn’t take him back, according to her mother.
The former Storm and Raiders NRL centre, 24, is contesting six domestic violence charges including reckless choking, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intimidation. He also denies three backup charges.
The mother of his now-ex-girlfriend told Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday she overheard a phone call between the pair on March 31, 2019, in which Scott repeatedly abused her daughter with the words slut and c***.
“I personally heard three times … ‘No other thirsty f*** is ever going to have you. I’m never going to leave you for any other thirsty f***’,” Renae Clark said.
“(He said) ‘I’m getting in the car, I’m going to come up and f***ing kill you so no other person can f***ing have you’.”
Ms Clark said she heard only 80 per cent of the nearly hour-long phone call as she was also taking phone calls from the Storm’s therapist, who was trying to track Scott down.
Eventually, Scott said “I’m going to kill you, you c***” before the Clark family heard Scott crash his car into a tree. They cut the call after hearing other voices.
Ms Clark denied she only heard Scott threaten his own life, or that she had a negative view of him at that time.
“I always felt very concerned for Curtis taking his own life. I always felt he was never ever going to leave her for anyone else on this earth; there were so many threats,” she said.
During cross-examination, Scott’s lawyer presented a copy of a text message Ms Clark sent the Storm’s general manager of football, Frank Ponissi, in early April 2019.
“We want nothing but the best for Curtis and truly hope he fully accepts the help being offered and moves forward to a fulfilling and successful … career,” part of the message reads.
But Ms Clark said the wider context was the Storm reporting three incidents between Scott and Tay-Leiha Clark to the NRL Integrity Unit.
The family didn’t want to discuss anything with the NRL body, provided Scott cut contact, she said.
The Storm began providing alerts to the Clark family each time Scott entered Sydney, where he’d be located and when he would be released to free time “so we could keep Tay safe”, she said.
In a separate incident in late 2018, Ms Clark said she woke about 2.30am to noises downstairs, eventually making out her daughter yelling “stop, Curtis, stop”.
“I knew she was in trouble because of the sound of her voice, the fear in her voice,” Ms Clark said.
Rushing from her bedroom and into a lounge room, the mother found a tearful Tay-leiha half-standing with her back to the wall, and Scott “hovering” over her.
Scott stood up, faced away and walked out of the room, Ms Clark said.
Her daughter was holding her arm, had a bump to her forehead and needed to be stopped from going after Scott, Ms Clark said.
“I told my husband to go and get him, ‘he’s just attacked her’.”
Scott, who was sacked by the Raiders in 2021 for off-field incidents, says the young couple that met as teens repeatedly argued but he never became violent.
“It is firmly disputed … that during any of these arguments, or during any other argument during the relationship, (Scott) physically assaulted, strangled or threatened to kill the complainant,” barrister Slade Howell said on Monday.
The hearing resumes on Wednesday.
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