Australasian biker news

Troy Mercanti, a former member of the Coffin Cheaters and now a Fink bikie gang member. Source: PerthNow

Tammy Kingdon, the long-time partner of Troy Mercanti. Source: PerthNow

A SENIOR Perth bikie has gone on trial accused of repeatedly assaulting the mother of his two children during 15 years of physical, emotional and psychological abuse.

Troy Mercanti, a former member of the Coffin Cheaters and now a Fink, is charged with five counts of assaults on his long-time partner Tammy Kingdon, which allegedly left her with a broken eye socket, two sets of broken ribs and countless cuts and bruises.

Prosecutor Justin Whalley told the West Australian District Court on Tuesday that Mercanti, 45, had also urinated on Ms Kingdon, threatened to tie her with gaffer tape to a tree to stop her attending her sister's wedding and ordered her to lie on a dog bed and bark.

Mr Whalley told the jury that after the pair had met in Kalgoorlie in the late 1990s, where Ms Kingdon was working as a skimpy barmaid, she had "doomed herself'' to years of abuse in the violent relationship.

Mercanti is alleged to have seriously injured Ms Kingdon first in 1997, when he punched her in the face outside a hotel in Bunbury, leaving her with black eyes and a fractured eye socket that required a metal plate to heal.

The pair continued their relationship, and Ms Kingdon gave birth to two boys by Mercanti in the following four years.

Mr Whalley said Mercanti punched her again in 2002, leaving a facial cut that needed stitches, and launched a prolonged assault on Christmas Day 2006 which left her missing a tooth.

In 2011, he allegedly punched and kicked her and made her stand naked in front of their Duncraig house after an argument following a sex party involving a friend of Mercanti's.

Following an alleged beating in January 2012, when with broken ribs, she was left naked and cowering outside a neighbour's home, Ms Kingdon went to police and made a statement that stretched to 104 pages.

But defence barrister Colin Lovitt QC told the jury that rather than being a battered woman, Ms Kingdon was enamoured with Mercanti's lifestyle and reputation, and was herself "angry, abusive, hysterical and very accident prone''.

Mr Lovitt said the pair's relationship was characterised by verbal abuse from both sides, but they returned to each other "like moths to a flame''.

"He bought her everything, and she loved it and kept coming back for more,'' Mr Lovitt said.

"They had fights galore, they had sex galore, and the making-up for them was the best part.''

Mr Lovitt said Ms Kingdon had invented the string of violent incidents to suit her desire to leave the relationship with Mercanti and retain custody of her children.

The missing tooth was caused by a fall down stairs, and the 1997 assault which broke Ms Kingdon's eye socket was at the hand of someone else, Mr Lovitt said.

The trial continues.

Tammy Kingdon, pictured in 2011, is alleging she was assaulted repeatedly during her 15 year relationship with bikie Troy Mercanti. Picture: Kerris Berrington Source: PerthNow

THE ex-partner of a senior Perth bikie, who alleges she was repeatedly beaten during their 15-year relationship, has broken down in court after being confronted with her past life as a stripper.

Troy Mercanti, 45, who was a member of the Coffin Cheaters before defecting to the Finks, is on trial with assaulting and causing grievous bodily harm to the mother of his two children, Tammy Kingdon.

Mercanti has denied all five assaults, which are alleged to have taken place between 1997 and 2012 and to have inflicted injuries on 36-year-old Ms Kingdon including a fractured eye socket, a missing tooth, two sets of broken ribs and a serious cut to her face.

But after telling the jury in Western Australia's District Court how she endured the violence because she wanted to keep her family together, top Victorian lawyer Colin Lovitt QC painted a different picture of an exhibitionist with a drug habit and a fast temper.

Under cross examination from Mr Lovitt, Ms Kingdon categorically denied she had often "rained blows'' on Mr Mercanti - although she did admit to fighting with other women he was sleeping with.

"I've never touched Mr Mercanti. I don't know how to punch,'' Ms Kingdon said.

"I don't think I am a violent person.''

After also admitting she had once run naked across the turf at Subiaco Oval during an AFL game between West Coast and Carlton, and working for a stripper group called "Living Dolls'', Ms Kingdon was reduced to tears when shown pictures of herself posing provocatively on a motorbike.

"You are an exhibitionist, and you like getting your kit off in public,'' Mr Lovitt said.

Mercanti is alleged to have first seriously injured Ms Kingdon in 1997, when he punched her in the face outside a hotel in Bunbury after an argument, leaving her with a fractured eye socket and two black eyes.

The pair continued their relationship, and Ms Kingdon gave birth to two boys by Mercanti in the following four years.

In 2002, Mercanti is alleged to have punched her again, leaving her with a cut to the face that needed stitches.

And on Christmas Day 2006, Mercanti is accused of launching a prolonged assault on Ms Kingdon at his parents' home, which left her missing a tooth.

In 2011, he is said to have repeatedly punched and kicked her, before making her stand naked in front of their Duncraig house after an argument erupted following a sex party involving a friend of Mercanti's.

Ms Kingdon was left with broken ribs, as she was after another alleged beating in January 2012, when she was left cowering naked outside a neighbour's home.

Soon after, Ms Kingdon went to police to make a statement, which stretched to 104 pages.

Asked why she had stayed with Mercanti, Ms Kingdon said she was both scared and devoted.

"I loved Mr Mercanti very much. I could not imagine my life without him,'' Ms Kingdon said.

"I really wanted to keep our family together. I wanted that for my children.''