In tears, Laurie Parnell said that her husband would call her a “whore” and a “piece of s—” She also testified that he once put her out of the car and left her by the road after they argued when he told her she had to get an abortion.

The estranged wife also testified that he once slapped one of the children hard enough to leave fingerprint-shaped welts through the back of the boy’s T-shirt…

At one time, she testified, “He tried to choke me out on a couch and I literally had to bite him” to get free. “He was strangling me,” she said.

In a statement released by his campaign, Sean Parnell, 58, vigorously disputed her claims and said he was looking forward to rebutting them when the hearing resumes in a week. He attended Monday’s session, but did not testify.

“Let me empathically state: I have never raised a hand in anger towards my wife or any of our three children,” the statement said. “What happened today in court was not justice, nor did it have any basis in fact or truth. Next week, I’ll have an opportunity to present the truth to the court and I look forward to that opportunity.”