THE wife of former AFL footballer Fabian Francis punched his teeth out and tried to strangle him with a phone cord, a court has heard.
Francis, 37, of Greenwith, is on trial in the South Australian District Court charged with 20 abuse-related crimes against his now ex-wife, former policewoman Debra Buckskin, between 1998 and 2011.
Francis's teenage daughter from a previous relationship, Kloe Cleary, said during visits to her dad in Adelaide as a six-year-old she saw Ms Buckskin try to strangle him.
"I saw them arguing and Debbie grabbed out a knife and threatened dad, and then ... had a phone cord wrapped around daddy's neck," she told the court via video link from Darwin today.
She also saw Ms Buckskin punch out Francis's front teeth and witnessed "nasty arguments" in which they pushed and swore at each other.
The teenager told the court her father was the "woman" of the house, doing the majority of cooking, cleaning and child care.
Francis left Kloe's mother Dawn Cleary for Buckskin and they married in 1999.
Both Dawn Cleary and Francis's current partner Trish Gully told the court they had never experienced any violence or threats from the former Port Adelaide star.
Ms Gully said she would overhear calls in 2007 where Ms Buckskin swore at Francis, asked him where he was and if he was with a woman.
The court heard Ms Buckskin sent a text to Francis in May 2007 in which she called him an ugly dog and a maggot.
"I wish I stabbed you ... when I had the chance, you lying little maggot," she wrote in the sms which was read to the court.
Prosecutor Mark Norman has told the trial Ms Buckskin endured years of abuse at the hands of her jealous, controlling and cruel husband, who blackened his wife's eyes, bruised her body and broke her teeth.
The couple divorced in December 2007.
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