Each birthday, Stella Magnisalis feared her police-officer husband's degrading act.

Stella Magnisalis thought that once she fell pregnant, the harrowing abuse from her husband would finally stop.

He would have to spare her, at least for the sake of their unborn child.

Instead, the violence escalated.

For five years, Matthew Alan Thomson — a once-decorated police detective — abused, degraded and isolated Stella.

While he was trusted to protect Adelaide's most vulnerable, at home he was a violent man, inflicting unimaginable torment on the woman who loved him.

When he walked through the front door, his wrath was unleashed.

On Tuesday, Stella gave evidence in the South Australian District Court, describing the terror she endured.

She said Thomson smashed things to scare her. He stomped on her. Kicked her head "like a ball". Left her body covered in bruises — all while claiming it was out of "love and devotion", per Adelaide Now.

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The terror only continued once she fell pregnant. Each day, she lived in constant fear of what was to come, treading on eggshells in her own home.

Stella lost everything as her world shrunk in on itself — the four walls that should've been her safe haven became her cage.

"My home became a prison and I lived in constant fear. To this day, I still believe that you're going to kill me," she said.

In a powerful victim impact statement that sparked applause in the public gallery, Stella said her bruises may have healed, but the scars will last forever.

"My silence was not consent. I was trained to be obedient, to hide my pain," she told the court. "You broke things to scare me, and eventually I was one of them."

She told of how she felt "stripped of her dignity", and how her birthday each year is another reminder of his abuse.

"Every year on my birthday I cannot erase the smell, the texture, feeling utterly degraded, after you wiped faeces on my face," she said.

But in the bravery we see from victim survivors time and time again, Stella refuses to be broken anymore. She stood strong and tall as she delivered a powerful message to the courtroom, to her abuser, and to the world.

Stella revealed she tried to leave the relationship several times, only to be pulled back in. Each time, the system failed her.

"Missed opportunities to intervene were used to protect you by the boys in blue," she said.

And that's the part that's all too familiar: women failed by a system that's meant to protect them.

Where do you go when your husband's friends wear uniforms? What are you supposed to do when the people meant to protect you are the same people protecting your abusers?

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'You're not my father.'

Stella and Thomson's eight-year-old daughter also bravely addressed the court. She told them how life had changed now that her mum was free from Thomson's terror.

"I still remember when you slapped my face and you gave me a blood nose," she said. "What you did to my mum was disgusting, gross and unacceptable."

"Don't contact me. I don't want to see you … you're not my father," she added.

In February, Thomson pleaded guilty to repeatedly assaulting Stella, per Adelaide Now.

On Friday, his lawyer told the court that Thomson had experienced violence as a child — which he claims explains his actions.

But it shouldn't excuse them.

Because we've heard this too many times. That same tired script that does nothing to stop the cycle of abuse. Yes, our upbringing shapes us. But it shouldn't define who we become. Men are not destined to repeat the mistakes of their fathers.

We can choose to be better. We can stop the cycle.

Judge Anthony Allen acknowledged this, and said the fact Thomson was a serving police officer when he carried out the abuse must be taken into account. He will be sentenced in June.

Thomson is now living in Queensland with a new wife — a woman who, the court was told, knows about his history but has chosen to stay by his side. They've recently welcomed a baby boy, per Adelaide Now.

We can only hope the cycle finally ends here. But this story isn't about him anymore. It's about Stella — the woman he tried to silence, who has refused to be quiet.

The woman who stood in court and named every bruise, every betrayal, and said: no more.

The woman whose voice will be heard — not just for herself, but for every other woman still waiting to be believed.

"I will continue to tell my story," she told the court. "So men like you don't kill us."

And we will continue to listen.

If this has raised any issues for you, or if you just feel like you need to speak to someone, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.

Feature image: Getty.