Star couple Curtis Scott, Tay-Leigha Clark fought over ‘graphic’ Snapchats: court
NRL star Curtis Scott has admitted in court to arguing with his former partner about content she received via Snapchat, but denies their fights ever became physical.
NRL star Curtis Scott has admitted to having heated arguments with former partner Tay-Leigha Clark, but says he was never physically abusive to her.
Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court heard on Tuesday that lewd content received by Ms Clark via Snapchat, as well as Mr Scott’s behaviour during post-grand final celebrations, were two issues which had sparked fights between the couple.
Mr Scott said “trust, jealousy and communication” were big problems for the pair.
The 24-year-old took the witness stand in an ongoing trial over allegations during the couple’s roughly two-year relationship, between 2017 and 2019, he was physically and verbally abusive towards Ms Clark.
He has pleaded not guilty to four counts of common assault, stalk or intimidate with the intention of causing fear or physical harm, intentionally choke a person without consent, two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and intentionally choke a person with recklessness.
Mr Scott admitted to taking issue with Snapchat messages received by Ms Clark which showed graphic images of men.
Ms Clark, who is an aspiring athlete and social media influencer, had a large online presence, with a combined following of around 120,000 people, prosecutors said.
“We were laying in bed and she was going through her Snapchat account and opening all the Snapchats and there was a lot of male explicit content there,” Mr Scott told the court.
“I wanted to know why you’re accepting these and opening them next to me. I don’t want to see males pulling themselves off.”
Mr Scott told the court the pair argued about the messages, prompting Ms Clark to leave the house in an Uber.
He denies the argument ever became physical and said he was concerned for Ms Clark’s safety after she left the property – which was in the Melbourne suburb of Balwyn – late at night.
“I got into my car. I didn’t really want her to spend all night at the airport,” he said.
Mr Scott said he followed the Uber in his own car for several hundred metres before it stopped and he and Ms Clark “resolved” the argument before returning home together.
During evidence which Ms Clark gave earlier this month, she said Mr Scott had became “infuriated” by the posts, threw her phone to the ground, grabbed her by her hoodie, screamed at her and forcefully pressed his head against hers.
Police prosecutor Rebecca Beecroft said in most of the circumstances when the alleged offences took place there were no direct witnesses.
However, she said testimony by Ms Clark and others who claimed to have witnessed the immediate consequences of alleged physical abuse should be taken as reliable accounts.
“There are difficulties when it’s a one on one domestic violence incident in regards to whose version the court accepts,” Ms Beecroft said.
“In relation to the allegations, my submission would be that the prosecution has established each of the elements of those offences beyond a reasonable doubt.”
After the 2018 grand final, which Mr Scott’s former team, Melbourne Storm, lost to the Sydney Roosters, he says Ms Clark was concerned about how he would conduct himself during post-season celebrations.
The year before, Mr Scott took a last-minute trip to Bali with a teammate without informing Ms Clark.
He said during a post-match function for players, family and friends at Sydney’s Pullman Hotel, Ms Clark had wanted to go to bed earlier than he did.
“I wanted to finish my drink and hang out a bit longer with my teammates,” he said.
Mr Scott said he followed Ms Clark back to the room and the pair engaged in a verbal argument.
“She was worried about what was going to be happening the next few days after the grand final. We had a Mad Monday,” he said.
“She was worried about what I was going to be doing. Who I was going to be with. If there was going to be other women around – things like that.
“After the 2017 grand final, we celebrated reasonably hard. The communication while celebrating wasn’t the best. I wasn’t talking to her very often.”
Ms Clark claimed during her evidence that the pair had argued in the hotel room, during which Mr Scott had repeatedly choked her for what “felt like an hour”.
She said at times he had been on top of her, holding her pyjamas and neck, during which she couldn’t breath.
The court heard that Ms Clark received a message on Christmas Day in 2018 from an unknown male reading “Merry Christmas” followed by a heart emoji, which Mr Scott admits he took issue with.
The pair travelled to Lake Conjola on NSW’s south coast on Boxing Day and continued arguing about the message.
“She would speak actively to other males that were talking to her on Snapchat, Instagram and things like that,” he said.
“It made me feel … ‘am I good enough?’ She’d be talking to these other men that were trying to make moves on her.
“I felt insecure within the relationship because she was talking to other males.”
Mr Scott says when the couple argued at a holiday home owned by Ms Clark, he left the Lake Conjola property, initially with the intention of walking to Ulladulla, close to 20km away.
“I was going to walk or if I found a bike, ride a bike or something,” he explained.
Mr Scott said he realised the distance was too far to walk and the couple continued arguing on the street for some time.
He denied allegations that during that argument he pushed Ms Clark to the ground and bit her causing visible injuries.
Mr Scott also recounted the moment he deliberately drove his car into a tree in an attempt to take his own life just days after the relationship eventually ended.
Mr Scott said he was tired of arguing and had ended the relationship with Ms Clark over the phone.
“I told her to pretty much ‘f**k off’. That’s the way it ended, pretty much. I’d had enough of arguing on the phone,” he said.
“I was at the lowest point in my life then. I had a lot of things going on. I felt trapped and I felt like the only way out was to take my own life.”
He said he later called Ms Clark while he was driving, for the purpose of discussing some boxes which contained her belongings.
It is alleged during the call Mr Scott threatened Ms Clark’s life, which he denies.
He says he became “extremely upset” during the call and admits to swearing and having thoughts about hurting himself, which he says he told Ms Clark about.
“I’d seen the tree that I was going to drive into and I screamed as loud as I could, ‘I’m going to kill myself,’” Mr Scott said.
“Just before impact with the tree, I screamed ‘c**t’ as well.”
The trial continues.
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