Victim wrongfully charged with DV assault

A Victorian woman killed by her partner was wrongfully accused of perpetrating family violence against him, an inquest has been told. 

Alicia Maree Little, 41, died in December 2017 after her partner Charles McKenzie Ross Evans ran her down with his car at a property in Kyneton, north of Melbourne.

Evans was sentenced in 2019 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death, but was released after two years and six months behind bars. 

Ms Little was subjected to repeated physical, verbal and emotional abuse by Evans in the years before her death, State Coroner John Cain found on Thursday. 

But she was the one charged with family violence after Evans choked her during an altercation on May 7, 2015, the inquest was told. 

Evans called police, saying he was restraining Ms Little to protect himself although she could be heard begging for him to get off her. 

When police arrived, they arrested Ms Little after she admitted to biting Evans when he held her down. 

She had bruising to her face and was struggling to breath due to pain in her ribs. 

Ms Little was charged with intentionally causing injury, recklessly causing injury and unlawful assault, and a family violence intervention order was taken out against her to protect Evans. 

The charges were later dropped but only because Evans signed a statement of no complaint. 

Judge Cain found Ms Little lost faith in the system and did not report any further instances of family violence to police. 

But the abuse continued in the two years before her death, with Ms Little disclosing the violence to doctors, psychologists, family and friends.

Ms Little's mother Lee said it was horrible to hear the extent of her daughter's abuse and the lack of support she received from police. 

"She was called the perpetrator, but he was the one that was bashing her," Mrs Little told reporters on Thursday. 

"He kept on saying, 'you go to the police and I'll have you charged with assault'."

Evans has moved interstate since being released from a Victorian prison. 

Ms Little's family wants a national database of family violence offenders, so police across the country can be aware of convicted perpetrators.

"You can commit an offence in a different state and it's not acknowledged in Victoria," Ms Little's brother Bronson told reporters.

"There needs to be a national database register. Can this happen again? Will this happened again? Yes. Someone is going to get their life taken. 

"If we can help one family or one person, then we've achieved something."

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