Salim Mehajer was framed by a woman suffering from psychosis and schizophrenia when she accused him of domestic violence, he told police.
Mehajer accused the woman of sending fake text messages from his phone and concocting the assault allegations as a result of delusions she experienced, in a recorded police interview played in court on Thursday.
The 36-year-old former Auburn deputy mayor is defending himself against seven domestic violence charges in the NSW District Court.
Mehajer is accused of punching the woman's head 10 times in his car, squeezing her hand so hard it cracked her phone screen and covering the woman's mouth and nose with his hand, stopping her breathing until she passed out in separate incidents over multiple years.
While being interviewed at Silverwater jail in January 2021, Mehajer told Senior Constable James McGahon the woman, who he said was diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia and suffered from PTSD, was fascinated with blood and had a habit of lying.
Mehajer, who is representing himself in the trial, remained perfectly still throughout, staring down as a recording of the interview was played before the jury.
"I don't want to put her through cross-examination but you will see in the next few months that she is misleading," he told police.
He was asked to read out text messages sent between the woman and himself on the day he allegedly threw an object at her, leaving her arm with visible bruising, and stopped her breathing until she passed out.
"I have to be honest with you, when you were threatening me the other night I was terrified and so many things were going through my head," she wrote.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," he replied, followed by love heart emojis.
Mehajer denied sending the messages, telling Sen Const McGahon the woman set him up as part of her "plan of attack".
"Every time I went into the shower she would access my phone and do ridiculous things," he said.
"She would go through my phone and I never thought anything of it at the time but now everything adds up."
The trial continues.
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