Aussie singer Pete Murray is set to be called up to testify in court after witnessing a friend’s horrific domestic violence attack over the phone.
Murray is now a star witness in the case which left Anne Cavanough brain damaged after her husband, Jason Rutter, allegedly beat her.
The ‘So Beautiful’ singer, who became friends with Cavanough through their children’s school in Byron Bay, was on the phone to his friend when he allegedly heard Rutter “bashing her unconscious”, reports The Daily Telegraph.
She had reportedly been telling Murray about a fight the couple had had over their divorce settlement, before he heard her say, “Jason, what are you doing here?”.
“I heard Anne scream, then I heard, for about 20 seconds, repeated hard thumping sounds,” the singer told police, according to documents to be used in Rutter’s court case, reports News Corp.
After “20 or 30 seconds” he only heard silence.
“I was calling out to Anne to get her to answer me,” Murray told police, who then says he heard a woman’s voice, which reportedly turned out to be a neighbour.
Murray, who was in the car with his girlfriend at the time, says they were only a few minutes away and drove over.
“I saw the left side of her had a massive big swollen area on her cheek and temple. There was a lot of blood as well coming from her head. She seemed totally out of it,” Murray told police.
Court documents allege Cavanough has ben diagnosed with severe traumatic brain injury and suffers ongoing issues including reduced feeling on her right side and cognitive impairment.
Rutter was arrested two-weeks after the incident and initially pleaded guilty but has since requested to alter his plea after changing legal teams.
He is due to appear in back court on November 4.
