A neighbour who minded Ms Jules Thomas's children for three weeks after she was assaulted by Mr Ian Bailey said he slept with a "hammer under his pillow" in case he returned.
Mr Peter Bielecki said he had taken Ms Thomas to hospital after an assault in May 1996 and offered to look after her three daughters at the time. "The girls insisted that I keep a hammer under the pillow in case he tried to enter the house," he said.
Mr Bielecki also told the court that the injuries Ms Thomas received to her face were the "most appalling thing I ever witnessed".
He said that following the assault, one of Ms Thomas's daughters, Virginia, called to his house in a distressed state and asked that he bring her mother to hospital.
On reaching the house, Mr Bielecki said he was shocked to see the condition of Ms Thomas.
"Jules was curled up in almost the foetal position, at the foot of the bed, and was making these terrible animal-like noises. She had some hair in her hands ... her eye was purple and there was blood coming from it.
"Her face had gouges in it and she had teeth marks on her arm. It was as if someone had her soul cut out. It was the most appalling thing I'd ever witnessed," he said.
When asked what his opinion was of Mr Bailey, Mr Bielecki said: "I felt betrayed by Ian. I thought I was a good judge of character, I obviously wasn't." He said Mr Bailey had also admitted to him that he assaulted his former wife, Ms Sarah Limerick.
Mr Bailey has dismissed this and said he has no history of violence with women, apart from his partner Ms Thomas.
Counsel for Mr Bailey, Mr James Duggan, said Mr Bielecki's statements regarding Mr Bailey amounted to "page after page" of character assassination. Mr Duggan said that Mr Bielecki "couldn't stand" Mr Bailey and had "floored" him at a party around a bonfire.
Mr Bielecki responded that he had simply responded to a "silly game" where Mr Bailey had almost thrown him into the fire.
Mr Bielecki, who was removed from court last week after an alleged case of intimidation, also told the court he had not stared at Mr Bailey, as had been claimed.
Instead, he insisted that while talking to a solicitor after the case was adjourned on Wednesday last week, Mr Bailey started staring at him.
