A Canberra father will fight allegations he brandished a knife and threatened to kill his children and wife as she cradled their infant son.
The man, 29, pleaded not guilty to assault, threatening to kill and possessing an offensive weapon over the alleged family violence incident at the couple's northside home when he faced the ACT Magistrates Court on Friday.
Court documents said the couple had argued at length before the man's wife tried to call police when the defendant refused to leave the house on Thursday afternoon.
The man allegedly took the phone off her and seized a large knife from the kitchen.
He allegedly walked up to his wife, who was holding their baby son, and grabbed the infant's arm, causing the boy to cry in pain.
The defendant is then said to have raised the weapon in front of his wife and aimed the blade at the baby.
"I'll kill both of them and also I'll kill you," the man is alleged to have said.
He then let go of the baby's arm and threw the knife down in the lounge room before he went up to his wife and gripped her jaw, police will allege.
The man squeezed her chin and continued to make threats before the woman escaped his grasp.
Soon after, the family had driven to a nearby supermarket so the defendant could buy cigarettes, court documents stated.
When he went inside, his wife used a spare set of keys and drove to Belconnen police station, where she took part in a recorded family violence evidence-in-chief interview.
Police who went to the pair's home searching for the defendant said they noticed he'd been back to collect some of his belongings.
They took photographs of the kitchen knife, which was allegedly found underneath the microwave.
The man was arrested in Crace later that night.
Prosecutors opposed a bail application in court on Friday on grounds there was a likelihood the defendant would reoffend.
The man's Legal Aid duty lawyer said he denied the charges and claimed while the couple had argued over financial difficulties, he had gone to his brother's home when he realised he needed to "cool off".
Magistrate Bernadette Boss said the offences were "exceptionally serious" and allegedly took place in a context of "ongoing and significant" domestic violence.
"I hold grave and significant fears for the safety and welfare of the complainant and children," Dr Boss said.
She refused bail.
The matter returns to court in February.