Fallen AFL star Ben Cousins is freed from jail as police DROP charges of stalking and threatening to kill his ex girlfriend and mother of his children
- Ben Cousins has walked free from jail after charges against him were dropped
- The former West Coast Eagles and Richmond star was released at the weekend
- Had been accused of stalking and threatening ex-girlfriend Maylea Tinecheff
- Cousins pleaded guilty to breaching a violence restraining order on Friday
AFL champion Ben Cousins has walked free from jail after prosecutors dropped the most serious charges against him.
The former West Coast Eagles and Richmond superstar was released from prison at the weekend following a hearing at Armadale Magistrate's Court on Friday.
Cousins had been due to face trial in September over allegations he stalked and threatened to kill Maylea Tinecheff, the mother of his two children.
AFL champion Ben Cousins has walked free from jail after prosecutors dropped the most serious charges against him
But those charges were on Friday dropped - and he pleaded guilty to breaching a violence restraining order, 7 News reported.
Cousins was sentenced to eight months jail, but with time already served was released on Saturday.
The Brownlow Medallist was seen outside his parents' home in Perth giving a thumbs up to waiting media.
The former West Coast Eagles and Richmond superstar (pictured with ex-girlfriend Maylea Tinecheff) was released from prison at the weekend following a hearing at Armadale Magistrate's Court on Friday
His lawyer Michael Tudori told The West Australian his client was ready to move on with his life.
'He is very happy with the outcome. He is already out of prison and he just wants to now move forward with his life,' he said.
'He is delighted to be out, delighted to hold his kids and just wants to get back to working and trying to rehabilitate his life.'
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Cousins had been accused of bombarding Ms Tinecheff with dozens of phone calls and texts.
'I'm going to kill you. I'm going to take your life and your freedom and the things you love the most,' he was accused of telling her.
Cousins had been accused of bombarding Ms Tinecheff with dozens of phone calls and texts
He was arrested at her home in August last year and spent months behind bars until his release on bail in April
He was arrested at her home in August last year and spent months behind bars until his release on bail in April.
Cousins was once again in jail after his bail was revoked because of a diluted urine sample earlier this month.
He is now free of those bail conditions.
That arrest was just days before he was seen kicking a football with his son Bobby, seven, his daughter Angelique, five, and Ms Tinecheff in a park near his parents' home.
'I'm good mate, really good,' Cousins told Daily Mail Australia with a smile as he walked back to the two-storey house.
'I'm just enjoying a nice day with my kids.'
THE TROUBLED LIFE AND TIMES OF BEN COUSINS:
1996 - Makes AFL debut with West Coast and is named the league's Rising Star
2001 - Named club captain of West Coast at age 23
2002 - Breaks his arm falling down a flight of stairs at a nightclub months after punching his teammate Daniel Kerr
2005 - (May) Is quizzed by police about association with underworld identities
- (September) Wins Brownlow medal as the AFL's best and fairest player
2006 - (February) Swims across a Perth river to escape a booze bus
- (September) Wins AFL premiership with the Eagles
- (December) Is arrested after passing out in front of Melbourne's Crown Casino and spends four hours in jail
2007 - (March) Suspended by West Coast after missing training session
- (April) Goes to a drug rehabilitation facility in the US
- (October) Revealed to have visited fellow Eagles legend Chris Mainwaring twice on the night he died of a drug overdose
- (October) Arrested and charged with drug offences that are later dropped
- (November) Eventually sacked by West Coast and banned from the AFL for one year
2008 - AFL re-registers Cousins and he is signed by Richmond
2010 - Retires from the AFL but releases autobiography and documentary
Cousins has been charged with drug possession and refusing a drug test in 2007, but the charges were later dropped
2015 - Arrested three times before leading police on a slow-speed car chase
2016 - (June) Spotted behaving erratically and directing traffic on a highway
- (October) In and out of court over drug offences and breaches a restraining order taken out by his ex-partner
2017 - Jailed for one year for breaching restraining order by calling his ex-lover thousands of times
2018 - (January) Released from jail on parole just 10 months into his sentence
He takes up a community support role with the West Coast Eagles - a requirement of his parole conditions
- (May): Reports emerge he hasn't been seen at the club for a month
The club confirms the he told officials in April he no longer wanted the job
- (August) Arrested and charged with drug possession and breaching a restraining order
2019 - (February) He was fined $1,750 for possessing meth and hiding it up his anus while in jail
(March) Cousins pleaded not guilty to 14 offences in court, including breaching a family violence restraining order and a count each of aggravated stalking and threatening to injure, endanger or harm
(April) Cousins is released from jail on bail after eight months inside, his trial date has been set for September
August: Remanded in custody after allegedly breaching bail conditions
August 24: Released from jail and the most serious charges against him dropped
